


Just a Trim

by tbiris



Series: A Cut Above the Rest [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-01-09 22:49:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 49,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbiris/pseuds/tbiris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the coldest day of the winter yet and he has never taken greater glee in having a day off. Until he was called in to cut the hair of some greasy kid with bright green eyes. The beginning of his fall from grace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Freezing days and Greasy hair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Windwolf0097](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windwolf0097/gifts).



> Windie made me do it. It was going to be a one shot and then the plot bunnies started to breed. I have no idea how long this will end up being.

It was all of fuck ass freezing outside, and he had just curled up with a nice cup of cocoa when the phone rang. He stared at the number, and let it ring. There was no way he was picking up the phone when it was work calling, and when he knew assholes would call in unable to make it. It was one of the few downsides to living so close to the salon. He took a sip as the cadence finished, enjoying the silence for the moment before a new one started. He winced, that ringtone was set to Hanji's personal number and if she was calling it was likely she was one step away from barging into his apartment regardless of whether he answered or not. He sighed and flipped open the phone.

"I'm not going to come in on my day off," he growled into the speaker. A faint whine came in through the receiver.  
"I'll pay you time and a half! NO ONE'S come in yet."  
"Because they're smart and don't want to go out in this shitty weather, and neither do I." There was silence on the other end and he was about to close his phone in victory.  
"I'll wait for you to open the door when I knock."

He paused, the thought turning over in his head. The number of times that she had either already been in his apartment, or almost banged his head in when she opened the door too quickly made the offer more than tempting.  
"GREAT! Come in as soon as you can!" He growled at the phone but she had already hung up while he was pondering the offer.

He looked outside the window, making a grimace at the clear sky before getting off the couch. If he had to go outside he was going to make sure he was actually _warm_ before stepping foot outside.

That meant a shower as hot as he could possibly bear. He barely paid attention to his routine, except for the brief moment of cursing where he reached for his contact lens case only to remember that Hanji had managed to lose his last pair and he was still waiting for the replacements.

It took him a while to locate his spare glasses. He didn't normally bother to put them on unless he was reading or watching tv at home. He mostly used his contacts for work so that he wouldn't have to clean off water marks, besides they were normally more comfortable over a long day. he finally located them at the back of one of his desk drawers and slipped them on. He took a quick note to clean the back of the desks before he glanced at the time. Hanji had said as soon as possible, so it was likely no one else was in yet and they had an appointment soon that hadn't cancelled yet.

He wouldn't have enough time to make himself brunch, but he should be able to pick up food at the Starbucks if Hanji wasn't kind enough to at least have coffee or food waiting for him. He added an extra layer of clothes before he finally put on his jacket and slipped out of his apartment.

The moment he stepped out of the door, he came to the realization he had earlier in the day. It was fucking freezing out. The extra layers and scarf seemed to barely ward off the chill that started to pierce into his bones. He kept his nose buried into his scarf and his eyes downcast and trusted his feet to bring him to the door of the salon.

He did quick glances before crossing any of the streets, more out of habit than anything else. Barely anyone was out on the road, a vague sense of longing for his nice warm apartment flitted through his mind when he noticed the absence of cars on the normally busy street.

Relief flooded his mind when his hand finally touched the door to the salon and pushed it in. The place was practically sparkling, just as he had left it yesterday. He glanced over at the reception desk, giving a curt nod to Petra. He ignored her giggles as he kept the layers, but took off his boots for some of the slippers they kept at the front.  
"Hanji?" he asked.

He glanced around again and realized just why she had called him in, and began to list the ways he was going to murder everyone. No one else was here, not even trailing around in the back waiting for any possible walk ins. Not that those were going to happen today anyways.  
"In her office," Petra smiled. Her fit of giggles seems to have subsided for the moment at least.

He started towards her office, pausing for a moment before turning to look back for a moment.  
"Who's the fucker that hasn't cancelled today so that I had to get called in?" he asked. Petra blushed at his language and he heard some complaint or other from the manager's office, but ignored it as Petra typed into the computer.  
"Eren Jaegar for Jean," she called. He nodded and strode to the manager's door, pushing it open.

At least it seemed like Hanji had made some effort to clean. There was one corner of the room that seemed to be tidy to his standards, causing him to kick up an eyebrow. She twirled around in her chair, one hand offering a porcelain cup with coffee, with a package from the Starbucks dangling from it. The other was busy shoving food into her own mouth.

He grabbed both the package and coffee before she could get crumbs into it. He felt the warmth slowly seeping back into his skin as he took a sip and hummed.  
"Why are you wearing your glasses?" she asked, swallowing her own food. He rolled his eyes before glowering at her.  
"Because some shitty person decided to drop and lose my set when she entered my apartment while I was doing groceries," he replied flatly. Hanji looked rather sheepish at that.  
"Right, and I offered to pay you back." He nodded, taking another sip of liquid warmth.  
"Glad you remember that. Is that asshole the only one coming in?" If he could warm up and then head home he would be beyond happy.

Hanji gave him a sheepish smile before taking another huge bite of her muffin. His eyebrows snapped together.  
"How long am I going to be here?" He could barely make out a muffled answer that sounded like 'until someone else comes in.' "What the fuck Hanji, am I seriously stuck here until close?" he snarled.

She drew her legs up on the chair, and he could almost feel the tick in his cheek starting.  
"I didn't have much choice, practically everyone else drives here and they've been ticketing. I had to come in when I wasn't scheduled too just because people didn't cancel you know." He felt a little better knowing that Hanji was going to be just as miserable. "Have your breakfast since the first guy comes in in about ten minutes."

He resisted the urge to curse, but at least she hadn't called him when the guy had actually been waiting so he would be able to somewhat enjoy his beverage and brunch. He turned to leave the office, peeking into the bag to see that she had bought one of the egg breakfast sandwiches.  
"You really fucking owe me," he muttered as he went to the break area. There was no way he'd eat in that mess that she called an office.

He didn't take as much time as he'd like with the meal. Generally people liked to come early for their appointments, and he doubted Eren Jaegar would be an exception. The only problem was that in this cold, people would arrive even earlier to get out of the cold faster and to stay warm. Hanji had given him ten minutes, but he was willing to bet that he didn't even have five.

He wasn't disappointed when he could hear Petra's voice at the front just as he finished the sandwich. He mournfully watched the coffee go down the drain, but he hated cold coffee almost as much as actually being cold. It was one of the few times he didn't bother cleaning right away, he would need something to do later anyways.

He did stop by the restroom to wash the butter from his hands and by the time he emerged, Eren Jaegar was talking to Petra, a concerned look on his face that faded to irritation.

He supposed it was possible for the boy to look somewhat attractive, but the only thing that really caught his attention was the mat of grease on his head that might be called hair. It was the end of the school exam time, and this was the one reason he was happy not to have to wash hair most of the time. Except that now he'd have to.

He came out to hushed whispers at the reception desk, really there wasn't any reason to whisper since the only person to interrupt was the Barenaked Ladies that was playing quietly overhead. He was surprised at Hanji's restraint for volume given the number of people that were here before.

"But I made the appointment with Jean," the voice was a light tenor. He briefly wondered if the brat sang at all, and that he probably sounded amazing.  
"No one but you was stupid enough to still come out," he drawled. Petra looked aghast in his direction, but it drew the boy's attention away from her. There was a slight look of panic in his eyes and he was fidgeting with the end of his coat.

"I-uh,"  
"Levi is one of our best Eren," Petra soothed, smiling slightly. "Of course if you want to reschedule..."  
"Yeah I think-"  
"I can tell from here just how badly you need a wash and cut. So how about you shed those layers, sit down and you can leave warmer than you are now." He could see the hesitance in the boy's posture.  
"Otherwise you'll have come all this way for nothing." That was the last thing that Levi wanted, because then _he_ would have been called up this early for no reason as well.

He relaxed a little when the brat began to shed his winter gear, and switched out his boots for a set of the slippers. Levi relaxed a little further, the number of people that didn't do that during the busy hours drove him nuts.

He gestured the boy to sit in one of the hair washing stations. He seemed hesitant to sit and put his head back, and Levi grimaced as he lifted the grease pot so that it was all in the sink. It felt half frozen to boot. He checked the water temperature; it was warm to the touch so he cooled it down a bit. Warm to him would probably be boiling to the kid. He began the long process of soaking the brat's hair. He would probably have to shampoo at least twice to get all the crap out of it.  
"How often do you wash your hair?" A touch of his disgust must have coloured his voice because the kid _blushed_.

"Usually once a week or so," he muttered quietly. "I didn't get much chance to during the exams." He snorted as he began to massage in some of the better shampoo.  
"There's always time for a shower. If you don't take care of yourself you can hardly expect to do as well." He bit back more than a few words he would have liked to normally toss in. He forgot that was the other reason he liked his off days. At least then he could swear up a storm and no one would give a shit. When he expected to be working he stopped that mental process early on so it would be harder but now his thoughts would be stuck on the vulgar route for most of the day.

He carded his hands through the boy's hair as he rinsed off the shampoo, it took out most of the grease, but there was no way he was going to be touching something with even the traces of the disgusting old oil later. He lathered up again and massaged in another handful of shampoo, smirking to himself when he saw the boy's eyes close from the head massage. He looked rather comfortable for a moment, until he opened his mouth at least.  
"Tell that to everyone else on campus." Levi crinkled his nose. That was one period of life he was glad he finished.  
"I'll take my small victories," he replied. He rinsed the last of the lather out of the hair and checked the feel of it once more. He frowned slightly, taking note of the texture now that all of the extra oil was down the drain.  
"When was the last time you were even in here?" he asked. Now that he wasn't cringing, he could feel all the split ends as he reached for the conditioner.

He could barely see the blush that covered his client's face again as he mumbled something that sounded oddly like 'beginning of the term'. He scowled down as he worked in the conditioner.  
"Why am I not surprised?" he muttered. He wanted to kick the boy when he shifted, almost causing Levi to spray some of the water outside of the basin.  
"At least you're being nicer about it than horse-face." He kicked up an eyebrow as he began to towel the hair. He felt rather than saw a half shrug. "He normally threatens to shave me bald because I don't come in often enough and he rants about split ends and how it's horrible how I treat my hair."

"It is fucking horrible how you treat your hair." He winced at the swear that slipped out. He could feel Hanji's glower at him through the wall, but the boy seemed to only relax and smile at it. Maybe he was safe about that for now then. He tossed the wet towel into the hamper at the end and grabbed a dry one that he tucked into the boy's shirt and sauntered over to his station. He twirled the seat to face the boy, looking slightly bored as he readjusted his glasses.

"What are you looking for then and if you say only a trim I might just shave you instead," he asked. He could hear Hanji chorkling in the manager's office and he was very tempted to go and pour her coffee over her head. He could only see the shit's grin in the mirror, but it had him briefly contemplate giving the ass a horrible haircut.

"What if I told you Jean only ever gave me a trim?" he asked as Levi spun him to face the mirror. Levi grabbed the cape and draped it around, making sure it was secure in the back and no hair was caught underneath it.

"I would tell you that Jean's an ass and as a result your hair isn't nearly as healthy as it should be." It seemed to give him pause, before he gave a small smile.  
"Jean usually cuts it too short," he commented quietly. Levi rolled his eyes.  
"You normally wait until it's this long before you come in don't you?" he asked. He opened another drawer to find his comb and a hairbrush. The faint redness on his face told him enough so that he snorted as he brushed through the tangled mess. It seemed like he was the type that really let health go out the window with exams. He frowned and tried to be as gentle as he could, but he could still catch the occasional wince in the mirror. He half tuned out the explanation of just _why_ he couldn't come in that frequently and it resulted in Levi glaring at the mirror and the kid shutting his lips tight.

"It doesn't take that much effort for a trim, and if you actually kept on top of it instead of it getting this bad it wouldn't be as horribly short for you either." He finished brushing out the last few strands and barely caught the brief thought of 'cute' when he glanced into the mirror and saw Jaegar's face not framed by a rat's nest. He started to section off pieces of his hair, and started to explain when he saw the confusion in the mirror. Sectioning of parts of hair to work with, especially with longer hair let him see more of what he was doing. He'd be starting off with scissors just to take off the pieces of hair damaged beyond repair. Rather, beyond piss-poor student repair. He caught the small smile at his language again and a faint warning from the Hanji's direction again. He winked at Petra before throwing the middle finger in Hanji's direction which had Eren convulsing in laughter.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing there Levi!" He shrugged as he slipped in the last pin.  
"Doesn't matter if you don't have proof," he called back. Jaegar grinned into the mirror.  
"It isn't normally like this is it?" he asked. Levi shook his head and took a moment to draw the lines in his mind for the cut.  
"No you get to deal with my crass self because everyone else called in scared of the cold and I'm the professional that lives closest and doesn't drive. And because someone decided to call me in on my day off." His voice rose, taunting Hanji. They could hear a vague snort into a cup of coffee.

Eren's eyes widened slightly, tilting his head back to look at Levi until he shoved the boy's head back so he was looking at the mirror and could actually get a straight cut. He ignored the blush that he could see in the mirror.  
"I didn't cancel because Jean and Mikasa threatened me if I didn't make this appointment," Eren muttered, crimson coloring his face. Levi snorted, it was a round about apology, but he didn't mind too much. He could understand the threats given the state of his hair.

He hummed quietly as he made the first few cuts.  
"It's still going to be pretty short, but if you hate it you can just call and tell Hanji you need another appointment with me." He grinned deviously, there was a perfect way to get back at Hanji. "Free of charge courtesy of her calling me in." He could hear some kind of scream from the manager's office about how packed his schedule was and what was he thinking. He saw Eren's eyes flick to the manager's office and back to the mirror, looking towards where his face was.  
"I don't want any trouble," he muttered. Levi rolled his eyes, placing a hand on Eren's shoulder, pausing in his cutting to catch his attention.  
"If she's making me stay here until close just twiddling my fingers most of the day I'm going to make her make up for it," he muttered. He resumed his normal tone. "Or you can go to Kirchstein instead and possibly get a crew cut." He smiled slightly at the grimace in the mirror.

"As much as I like to support friends and all I might just take you up on that," he muttered. Levi evaluated the cuts for a moment before unpinning the next section, letting the long hair flow back down. He would style it with the razor later, for now he would just get rid of all the unhealthy ends. A flicker of amusement filled his eyes, he wondered what the boy would think when he finished with the cuts. He was expecting to see a mess again that he would tidy up but he was willing to bet Eren would just think he had given him one of the worst haircuts of his life.

He chuckled when he saw the first bit of doubt in the boy's eyes, drawing another blush from him.  
"Am I that easy to read?" he mumbled, tilting his head down. Levi sighed and repositioned his head again.  
"Only when I'm expecting it. I don't know you at all and it's not like I can fucking read your mind." A sheepish smile crossed over his face in the mirror. Levi snorted and continued to cut.  
"Cutting the minimum that your hair needs and then I can see how much I'm left with to style." Eren gave a brief nod before stilling again while Levi took down the next pin.

There were a few minutes of silence while Levi continued cutting and he could glimpse the boy fidgeting underneath the cape. It was rare that someone actually sat still during their haircuts though, so he thought nothing of it. He was taking down the last section when the quiet voice broke through the music.  
"Why were you the only one called in?" he asked. Levi shrugged as he trimmed down the last part.  
"I live closest and I normally walk, so I don't get caught in that 'no driving or we'll give you a ticket' crap." He saw a wince in the mirror and raised an eyebrow.  
"It's a shitty walk," Eren muttered, looking down at his hands. Levi wasn't going to deny it, it had sucked but it was proving to be entertaining enough for now. He tapped his shoulder.  
  
"Head up. I need to see how much I have left to work with." He saw the reflection of green eyes in the mirror again and he shifted off to the side. He brushed by a section and hummed slightly. "Is there a particular look you want?" Eren rolled his eyes and smiled slightly.  
"Just not shaved please." Levi snorted as he put the scissors to the side for now and got out the comb and razor.  
"Super short it is," he quipped, chuckling at the boy's aghast stare. "I'm joking kid. It's still going to be short but I should be able to make it so that it isn't a buzz cut at least." The small smile was a little endearing as he got back to work. He noted that he would have to thank Petra later when he noticed the lack of the long strands around his feet.  
  
There was more silence while Levi trimmed each area, sculpting the mess into something tidier. He paused for a moment, before making a decision and creating a different flow than he normally would for a person. It wasn't like he was particularly busy today anyways. He would have to go back with the scissors later to tweak the bangs a bit, but he didn't think that Eren would mind. He caught a quick glimpse of the bright green eyes staring up at him through the hair even though Levi tilted his head back down. A corner of his mouth twitched up, yes the boy could be rather adorable without a horrible mess on his head.  
  
The last bit of hair fell from the scissors and Levi ruffled the hair, deciding if he should use the hairspray or not. He decided to forgo the spray and just show the boy how to style it after it was dry. The way it cut though it should be fine if he just rolled out of bed and didn't bother. The roar of the hairdryer was followed by its heat and he could almost swear that both he and Eren hummed at the same time, happy for the additional warmth.  
  
The unfortunate thing was that short hair dried rather quickly. He brushed off the back of Eren's neck and had one last round with the hair dryer to try and blow off all the cut hair on the boy's neck. The death of the noise was only followed by a quick pass with the comb to brush it into the style. He was careful to leave the path to the mirror open, and could catch the faint realization in Eren's eyes. The silence was broken by the snap of the button as Levi undid the cape, careful to scatter the hair only on the floor before he swung the chair around, facing towards Petra.  
  
"There you go. If you come in here again with that much grease and that long I'll tell Kirchstein to shave you bald or I'll just grab you and do it myself. Now go see Petra." The boy's face fell slightly and reached out for a moment before dropping his hand.

"Tip?" Levi snorted, he couldn't believe that the kid was actually trying to give him more money. "If you really want to tip me that badly tell fucking Kirchstein he owes both of us a drink for making us come out today." A smirk crossed his face as he saw Eren's devious smile and a half wave.  
"I'll let him know that then." He turned to head to Petra's desk. Levi took the moment to ask her where the broom was and scowled when she pointed towards Hanji's office. He stalked over to the door.

His intent was to just grab the broom and dustpan and clean up all the hair, but it seemed like Hanji had others plans. She was clutching the broom and had a devious smile to rival Eren's. He scowled at her and held out his hand for the broom. She shook her head and pointed at the door, motioning him further into the cesspit she called an office. He closed the door, figuring that was the next step anyways.

She raised an eyebrow at him, her clutch on the broom growing tighter.  
"What is _up_ with you today?" she asked. Levi's scowl faded slightly as he kicked up an eyebrow.  
"What the fuck do you mean?" he asked. She pointed at him and drew her legs up on the chair.  
"THAT. You being so," she gestured at him wildly. "WEIRD." He sighed and leaned against the door. It was probably the only thing clean in this place and only because he kept it that way.  
"It's what happens when I think I'm spending a day at home and get called in." Hanji made a weird noise in her throat.

"I know you're like that at home! But I could swear you were _flirting_. Your own weird freaking blend of _flirting_." Now she was starting to get annoying. He hadn't been doing any such thing and the most he had even thought about Eren was that he had the potential to be adorable, but that didn't mean anything.  
"I wasn't _flirting_ god Hanji." He went to rub his nose, but forgot he had his glasses on and scowled slightly as his fingers bumped into them. Hanji looked at him critically and slowly nodded.  
"Well if he does show up I'll juggle the schedule but it's coming out of your pay unless you admit you were flirting with him."  
"I was flirting with him," he deadpanned. She snorted, she knew that he didn't really mean it and just wanted to make her life more of a hell than it currently was. She slowly held out the broom to him. He snatched it and yanked the door open.  
"Ask Petra! She'll agree with me!" she yelled as he stalked over to his chair. He threw a rude gesture in her direction before he was completely out of sight of the office door.

Petra was alone at the desk now, looking at him quizzically as he methodically cleaned.  
"Ask me what?" she asked. He rolled his eyes and paused for a moment.  
"Hanji seems to be under the impression that I was flirting with Eren." He hadn't quite realized that Petra had been tapping her nails on the desk until the sound stopped.  
"You weren't?" she asked, slightly confused. He scowled at her, mouth open until she raised a hand. "You do realize you just used his first name right?" He looked at her, baffled until he realized that he called everyone he liked to some degree by their first names and he had started to think of him more as Eren as the appointment had progressed.

He leaned his head against the broom, swearing inwardly at himself. He didn't even know the fucker and they had barely talked. How could he possibly like anyone in anyway with that much information.  
"Fuck," he muttered. Petra gave him a sympathetic smile before typing on the computer.  
"Next one that hasn't cancelled is at 3," she informed.  
"Fuck again," he replied. He glanced up at the clock. It was just past noon now and it would only take him a few minutes to clean up his station. His eyes slowly fell to Hanji's office and he felt a shudder run down his spine. No, he wasn't that desperate yet. Although if he really had to stay until close without any appointments, he probably would end up cleaning her office.

He dragged a chair out to the desk so he could sit near Petra. Hanji had her own office full of things to entertain herself, or whatever she was actually doing there. He glanced at her screen and sure enough she only had a screen with three sectioned parts and the schedule of appointments for next week. A quick glance told him that he would probably be pretty busy over that time.

Petra's attention was focused on her phone and she seemed to be frantically texting someone. Rather than interrupt her conversation he got up and dug out his phone from his hanging jacket. A few swipes had his phone unlocked and pulling up his usual game as he sat back down.

He focused purely on the game, fingers swiping quickly across the screen and eyes flicking from side to side. It was rather relaxing and the further he got the more he felt his body relax into it's normal state. He didn't bother looking at his score as the round ended and looked up, blinking to reorient himself and noticed Petra staring at his phone with her mouth open.  
"What?" he asked. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, with only squeaks escaping.  
"How are you so good at Fruit Ninja?" she squeaked finally. He looked slightly confused and was about to answer when the phone rang. He closed his mouth and glanced up at the clock while Petra answered the phone. The downside to the game was that it was rather short as well. The click of the mouse grabbed his attention as Petra cancelled that three o'clock appointment and moved it to two weeks later. Hope fluttered in his chest and she shook her head as she continued to console the caller that there wouldn't be a canceling fee for today since many of the hairdressers were also unable to come in.

He glanced down the list, looking for the next person that was the reason why he couldn't go home. Four thirty and three other names that were still on the list. He scowled, why couldn't these people actually call in the morning so that he didn't have to come in at all. Except for Eren, Eren had a good reason to brave the weather, even though it ended up being misplaced.

Petra hung up the phone, sighing slightly before raising an eyebrow at him.  
"Seriously though? 1500 on Fruit Ninja?" Levi looked at her quizzically.  
"How is that good?" he asked. He was even more puzzled when her face became even more awed. She shook her head and pulled out her own phone. He watched her play one round and his jaw slackened slightly. He hadn't realized that most people scored around 500, or maybe Petra was good as well and most people scored lower.  
"Oh," he said as he continued to stare at her score. He glanced up to meet her soft smile before sitting back in his chair.

The remaining time was spent with two of them sat playing games, and trading the occasional gossip about everyone else. He was slightly thankful that she didn't mention Eren anymore. He would have to take some time to actually sort out what place the boy occupied in his own mind. Every so often the phone would ring and Levi's attention would be drawn from the phone to the computer screen.

It wasn't until five when the last appointment of the day cancelled and Hanji told them both to go home. In that time he had mopped the floors again, thankfully they were surface sealed so that they weren't water or stain damaged easily. He did end up cleaning off another section of Hanji's office with her protests sounding through the building. It had probably encouraged her to send him home, while she stayed to finish the pile of paperwork that the day seemed to have built up.

The sun was only just starting to set and he was cursing the weather and the season as he half ran back to his apartment, and he could barely hear Petra doing the same in the opposite direction. Fog began to gather on his glasses, forcing him to slow down and take them off as he reached the building. He cursed when he felt the edges, ice had begun to form on the extremities. Fuck Hanji for losing his contacts.

He didn't bother taking off his winter clothes when he finally got into his apartment. The chill had started to seep into his bones, never mind that he was so close. He felt a moment of guilt for Hanji, although he would swear that she slept in that office some times.

He started the kettle, almost out of habit now. The winter had drenched his very being in misery and cold so that he had started to drink tea or cocoa almost every day when he got home. It took a moment of staring at the kitchen to realize what he had forgotten today. He had meant to start the slow cooker so he wouldn't actually have to cook. He closed his eyes and rubbed his nose, distracted suddenly by three distinct notes. Jaws, he identified it as Hanji's ringtone. He swore even as he picked up the phone.

"Now now Levi, is that anyway to greet someone that bought dinner?" His heart fluttered and his hand gripped the counter as tight as he could, despite the prickling he was starting to feel at the tips. He grit his teeth, he knew she'd want to discuss Eren as well, but she had brought food so he wouldn't have to cook. It was tempting, and she had promised not to enter unless he let her. He closed his eyes, trying to decide if it was worth it.

"What is it?" he found himself asking. His glasses were starting to burn in his hands. Her chipper voice was far too happy, like she knew that he was going to let her in.  
"Italian. You still have that wine too right?" Fuck Hanji, fuck her and knowing his weaknesses and knowing just how to push him into doing something.  
"Yes," he growled. "I'll fucking open the door. Tea or cocoa."  
"I figured that we'd eat while the food is hot, the wine is cold and there's some soup here. I'll see you soon!" The line clicked and he stared at the sink for a moment before flicking the kettle back off, but letting his hands hover over the steam.

The warmth enveloped him and he could just barely relax his hands, the stiffness bothering him still when the door thumped. He rolled his eyes. Hanji was probably just slamming her back on the door again. He had yelled at her the last time she had kicked at the door to knock.  
"Keep the fuck back," he called and he could hear a slight shuffle before he opened the door.

Hanji looked way too happy considering she had also been called in on her day off. There were a few moments of silence, where he was glad she didn't question his winter gear. He grabbed plates and cutlery while she was opening the steaming containers from the thermal bag.  
"Don't touch the food with your hands," he warned from the kitchen. He heard a sing-song affirmation from the living room area as he got two wine glasses down. He set them on the counter and held the stem between two fingers, the glass resting on his palm. The other hand opened the fridge and got out the leftover wine from the last time that Hanji had felt obliged to buy him Italian.

He set the glasses on the table while Hanji went to the kitchen.  
"Use the one on the right!" he called when he heard the water running and the faint squelch of soap. He took the time while Hanji was washing to finally strip off his scarf and winter coat. He hung his winter gear in the closet and Hanji came out just as she was hanging hers. The wine was poured while he washed his hands before sitting down.

There was a few minutes where they were just eating and letting their bodies drink in the warmth. Once Levi grabbed a second helping of pasta, Hanji started the topic he dreaded most.  
"So about your crush-"  
"It isn't a fucking crush," he bit out. The boy was cute and he wasn't daft like most of his customers, but that was _it_. Hanji didn't seem to believe him though. She placed her arms on the table and leaned forward.  
"You know his name Levi, and you bantered with him," she said quietly. He glared at her, not appreciating this position at all. His fork and knife dropped onto the table and he leaned forward, standing up a bit so they were at eye level.  
"I can think someone is cute without having a crush on them Hanji," he said slowly. Her gaze softened.  
"But you-"  
"No. Hanji I can fucking say someone is cute and that I enjoy talking to them and _not have a fucking crush on them_." He stood up and paced over to the bathroom, resisting the urge to slam the door.

He turned on the tap for no reason, and ignored the fact that he had left Hanji to make a mess out of his apartment. She was too meddlesome some times and if he didn't stop her now she would get too involved. He couldn't feel that much that fast anyways. He wasn't even sure how long he had known Hanji before they had actually become friends. It wasn't even like he would ever see Eren Jaegar as his normal crass self again anyways.


	2. Winter is Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi has to put up with his asshole friends teasing him a little too often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. I'll probably start updating both at the same time even though that might mean an even longer wait. I thought that I'd write this one up faster since the other perspective was done first but well, that didn't work out. Let me know if you find any mistakes.

He hated winter, he hated it with a passion. He especially hated one particular day of it, where all his so called friends insisted on a large party. The only bright side was that these particular festivities weren’t taking place at his residence.

 

The thought of cleaning his apartment after the typical festivities made him feel a little sick. Yes, it was definitely a good thing that they were all going to Erwin’s place instead. At least the freezing weather from a few days before hadn’t returned. He half hoped that it would stay warmer, but dreaded the temperature dropping again.

 

“Stupid weather,” he grumbled as he pressed the doorbell.

“Complaining again?” He stiffened automatically, before relaxing as he realized that it was Petra and not Hanji that had snuck up behind him.

“You really are jumpy,” she commented. He scowled and pressed the doorbell again.

“Can you blame me?” He glanced down and saw the bags Petra was carrying for a moment before she shifted one behind her back.

“Was I supposed to bring something and no one bothered to tell me?” Petra looked amused and horrified.

“It’s your birthday. We weren’t going to make you bring anything!” The door finally opened and Levi gave Erwin a small nod before he found himself surrounded by arms.

 

This was exactly why he had been so startled by Petra initially. Hanji had the oddest actions and he never knew what she was going to do.

“Get. Off. Me,” he growled. Hanji laughed and tousled his hair a little as she let go, barely dodging his attempt to smack her arm away.

“Shut up Erwin.” The blond was hiding a smile by the door.

“I didn’t say anything.”  
“Your face was saying it.” He stepped in, toeing off his shoes and setting them off neatly to the side.

“For fuck’s sake stop smiling so much.” Hanji burst out laughing and he could hear Erwin’s chuckle. A glance to the side showed that Petra at least wasn’t laughing, but had an amused smile on her face.

“It’s too bad we don’t get to see you like this too often,” she mused.

 

“Tell the kids to stop coming and customers to stop being such assholes then,” he grumbled. “I don’t like it either.”

“You know who he does like?” Hanji cackled. Levi’s head shot up and he grabbed her collar, almost sending her toppling over the step to the hall.

“Drop it,” he hissed. Her eyes went wide and he dropped her before going further in.

“Who else is here?” he asked Erwin, ignoring the look that he and Petra were giving him.

“Erd’s in the kitchen, Auruo said he was going to be a bit delayed. Moblit’s overseeing most of the preparations. Mike, Nanaba and Gunther… ‘forgot’ some ingredients and are doing an emergency grocery run.” He could hear the whispers among his friends as he stalked over to the kitchen. That fucking rumor was just going to spread across all of them now and he didn’t appreciate it one bit.

 

“Nice trip Levi?” Erd asked, looking up from what looked like a pot of sauce. At least, it was coloured and liquid and that was all he knew about it.

“I should be asking you that question. You’re the ones that are living in different states. I’m just a half-hour bus ride away.” Erd’s eyebrows shot up.

“You bussed? You hate the busses. They’re ‘full of unreasonable and idiotic people.’” He smirked and leaned against the wall. He would offer to help, but it would undermine all the work they had put in so far.

“Turns out that most people have more of a life than I do and don’t use the public transport on Christmas Day.” The ride had almost been sweet, watching the few people that had gotten on. Moblit still had a smile on, and it was starting to bother him a little.

 

“What’s up with you? Did Hanji finally get some common sense?” Moblit shook his head and Erd laughed, giving the other male a slight nudge.

“I’m moving here for the New Year.” Levi’s eyebrows shot up slightly and he opened his mouth to ask another question.

“No, I’ll have my own place.” Levi’s face turned slightly downcast, prompting a tinkling laugh from behind him.

“What got you so happy and then grumpy?” Petra asked.

“Moblit’s moving here but not with Hanji so she’s still going to be equally insufferable,” he grumbled. Everyone laughed at his sullen expression.  Petra’s slight touch on his shoulder caught his attention slightly.

“She’s trying to help you is all,” she explained. He shook off her hand and focused on the pot.

 

“Levi needs help and didn’t tell us?” Erd asked, his attention deviating from the spice cabinet. Petra shook her head quickly and placed a finger on her lips as Levi’s mood darkened further.

“Maybe if Moblit actually moved in with Hanji she’d stop trying to play around with my life,” he grumbled.

“Not a chance!” The bag almost thwapped him in the head and he glowered at her.

“Hanji! Some of the things in there are breakable!” Petra almost screeched. Levi glanced over at Moblit, smiling slightly at his resigned expression.

“Hanji please put the bag down- NOT ON THE COUNTER HANJI!” Levi’s chuckles caused all action in the kitchen to temporarily stop.

 

The plateau captured the moment perfectly and he wished he had a camera. Petra was reaching out to Hanji, her hands below the bag. Moblit had one arm sprawled over the counter the bag was hovering over, with the other reaching for the strap Hanji was holding. Erd was hiding in the corner away from the ruckus and the hot stove. Hanji was the first one to break the silence and stillness.

“I didn’t know that you still knew how to laugh.” The bag thumped onto Moblit’s arm, leading to shouts and screams from Moblit and Petra.

“Is everything alright here?” Erwin’s head poked into the doorway, his hands full of tinsel.

 

Petra had reclaimed the bag, now set just out of the kitchen on the floor. Moblit was holding his arm, slowly turning red.

“Get him to the bathroom Hanji!” Petra ordered crisply. Hanji had a sheepish look on her face and guided Moblit to the washroom and he could hear the water running moments later.

“Hanji decided to drop my thermal bag on Moblit’s arm,” she grumbled. A few more choice words of description had Erd staring at her in shock, Erwin being amused and Levi’s laughter filling the hall.

 

The casserole dish was quickly removed from the bag as Petra’s curses continued, although they were eventually drowned out by shrieks of laughter from the bathroom, suggesting that taking care of a mild burn had somehow turned into a water fight. He bit back another grin at Erwin’s resigned look.

“You didn’t seriously think this place would be clean after did you?” he managed to ask. Erwin chuckled.

“Not really, but I hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.” All movement paused again for a moment, trying to catch a sound that repeated itself again.

“I’ll get it.” Levi stood straight again as they recognized the doorbell sounding off again. It had been a long time since they had all managed to get time off for Christmas. He wasn’t as familiar with Mike and Nanaba as Erwin was, but it had been a few years since he had seen Gunther.

 

No sooner than he opened the door than he was enveloped in a huge hug and was cursing even as he could hear the familiar sniffs.

“Fuck it Mike! Get off of me! Why is everyone being so goddamned touchy today!” The three laughed and joined awkwardly in the hug.

“Fuck all of you.” Levi crossed his arms even as a slight warmth spread in his chest.

“Pleasure seeing you again too Levi,” Nanaba said quietly, grabbing some of the bags and darting quickly into the kitchen. His shoes somehow flew off in the process, landing by the door.

Mike followed him fairly quickly, pausing for a moment to talk to Erwin.

 

Gunther was left standing awkwardly in front of Levi.

“I can’t quite tell if you’ve changed a lot or if it’s just because Hanji’s gotten under your skin already,” he commented.

“The latter,” he grumbled. “She won’t leave well enough alone.” Gunther raised a questioning eyebrow before dropping the subject. Levi was fairly certain he’d hear about that more than once over the course of the evening. Maybe if he killed Hanji he could get everyone to help him dump her body as his birthday gift.

“Should I tell Hanji to run?” Erwin’s rumbling voice broke through his little fantasy. Levi stared at the older man, wondering just how much had been on his face.

“Who else would cause that murderous look? Help decorate the tree and talk.” Levi rolled his eyes and started towards the living room, leaving Gunther to poke his head into the kitchen.

 

There was surprising little talk while he decorated the tree with the two giants. He supposed Erwin wanted him to help so that the entire tree looked nice, rather than just the top half.

“What type of trouble did Hanji get into already?” Mike was the first to break the silence.

“It seems she managed to burn Moblit’s arm with Petra’s contribution to dinner.” Mike made an odd grunting type of sound while hanging another candy cane on a branch.

“Why do you buy all this sugary crap?” Levi grumbled, redistributing some of the tinsel around the tree. The issue ended up not being so much of the top and bottom being equally decorated, but all sides of the tree.

“Then Petra has something to give away at her desk after Christmas,” he replied. Levi caught a slight frown on Erwin’s face.

 

“She said something about Hanji having to pay for a follow-up appointment?” Levi frowned, he had no idea what that was all about.

“I have no idea.”

“You do know about Hanji’s request for time and a half last week though?”

“Like it matters, none of the other fucks came in anyways. Just dock their pay.” He could barely hear Erwin’s sigh.

“Someone did end up coming in for an appointment,” he pointed out. “Would you rather be dealing with that shit storm instead? When it was the fucking coldest day in the state for who knows how long?”

“Fifteen years,” Mike rumbled. Levi gave a slight nod in his direction.

“She had to offer more than that to get me to come in so you shouldn’t feel slighted.” This time he did catch Erwin’s slightly puzzled look.

“She actually has to wait for me to open the door now when she’s visiting,” he grumbled. He would have preferred an offer of she wouldn’t come over unless he had okayed it, but there was no way that would have actually ended up happening.

 

A slight whistle drew the attention of the three. Erd had a plate half full of bruschetta, which offered to the three.

“She must have been desperate to offer anything that gave you more of a chance to toss her out.”

“It was needed in the end. Two fuckers fucked up,” he grumbled. Erwin raised his eyebrows, but Levi ignored the look to shift over some of the candy canes.

“Was one of them that boy she was telling me about?” he asked. Mike glanced over to Levi, before returning his gaze to the tree when he saw the poisonous look on Levi’s face. Erwin was more resilient to the look than Mike however and kept his casual smile.

“If you even start-”  
“It’s a yes or no question Levi. I’m not going to read into it.” Levi snorted, Erwin read into everything, but hopefully what he meant was that he would keep his mouth shut.

“Yes,” he growled. “Kirschstein is the other fucker. I can’t entirely blame him for threatening the ass though.” He noticed Mike and Erwin’s slightly puzzled look.

“Kirschstein threatened to shave him if he rescheduled the appointment and didn’t call him before the idiot left.” He blew out a huff of air. He could hear Mike’s faint snort of laughter and he could almost see Erwin’s grin through the tree.

 

“I feel more sorry for the kid for having to put up with you then,” Erwin murmured, amused.

 

“Are you done with the tree yet?” Mike grunted and glanced down at Levi. He took a step back and looked at the tree critically before tossing Mike the star.

“Close enough.”

“Good, dinner should be on the counters in five-make that ten minutes.” Petra ducked her head back into the kitchen, her scolding voice suggesting that Hanji had almost gotten Moblit into another accident. He glanced back at the tree, smiling slightly now that the finishing touch was on top of it.

 

He slipped away to the washroom, taking note of the towels and small puddles from when Hanji and Moblit were in there earlier. Slipping in here wouldn’t be fun. The other washroom had more space, but it was bound to have more people in it later to wash their hands. His motions were almost automatic, sleeves up to the elbow and a good lather along his entire arm with particular attention to the spaces between his fingers.

“Levi! If you keep trying to scrub off your own arm hair the food’s going to get cold!” He laughed.

“I bet there’s still three people in the other bathroom washing their hands!” he called back. He heard hysterical laughter from the kitchen that told him he was right. Nonetheless he stopped his scrubbing and rinsed off all the soap before grabbing a fresh towel from the closet to dry off.

“What were you and Moblit doing in here anyways so that you got water over half the floor?” he asked as he headed back to the kitchen.

 

The two looked at each other before Hanji snorted in laughter and Moblit looked off to the side with a faint tinge of red in his cheeks. Levi scowled and took a sidestep away from the two.

“Oh don’t be like that Levi! Moblit just slipped and almost fell into the tub!”

“Hanji.” He could almost swear that Moblit was almost whining.

“No, know what. I’m sorry I asked.” He should have known that before the words had come out of his mouth. He was relieved when Auruo finally joined them all so that they were all packed into the small kitchen.

 

His hands automatically reached out to grab nearby hands, which happened to be Nanaba and Erd.

“Levi why don’t you do the honors?” Erwin rumbled. He could hear a few snickers and he sent a glower over to his boss. Erwin would pick him this year, he managed to avoid the man’s attention most of the time and someone else would say their blurb for the year, usually full of thank yous and we should feel gracious. He didn’t feel particularly gracious, especially when he was half certain Petra and Hanji were planning something behind his back.

 

He glanced around the group, shifting his train of thought to what words could possibly be appropriate. He could feel Erd’s hand squeeze his own, for reassurance he supposed, or to remind him that the food was getting cold.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve all spent time together. Thanks to Erwin for having such a huge place so I don’t have to clean mine later.” Hanji and Petra giggled and Erwin smiled slightly.

“You’re all still comfortable with inviting me to these things so I guess that means we’re all still friends although I still have no idea why you find the idea of socializing with me ‘fun’.” He gave a pointed glance at Petra and Hanji.

“Thank you all for being here, that we all still get along and that everyone seemed to at least have enough sense to not ask me to bring food and then make it so I don’t realize that you’re all assholes for not telling me to bring anything. Especially when all you fuckers end up making something gorgeous for us all to eat.” There was a chorus of laughs in the circle.

“Thank you for all your hard work, and being around for another year. Now where the fuck is the cutlery.” He huffed a sigh of relief as there were a few murmurs of prayer and a few laughs around to end the tradition, before the circle broke to dive into the drawers.

 

Somehow after all their years together, it was still chaos to actually get food before getting into the living room. Levi somehow managed to squeeze and get all his food fairly quickly, elbowing Hanji once for good measure while he was getting a piece of Petra’s lasagna. He moved to claim the corner of one couch, only he was a moment too slow sitting down and Hanji squeezed him over. Moblit sat on his other side, making him a little more comfortable with Hanji’s presence. It wouldn’t be too strange if she kept harping on about Eren if he gave her a chance.

 

He swatted away her fork as it hovered over his lasagna.

“You have your own!” He could hear Petra laughing as she came out of the kitchen and joined their couch. Most of the food stealing would occur only before the first film started. They watched the same three every year, so generally gossip would be traded over the duration.

Usually there was only one couch in the area, however Erwin had moved two of the smaller ones from the ‘quiet’ areas so that they were all in a semi-circle around the tv.

 

“Leave the birthday boy’s food alone Hanji,” Moblit scolded. That was the reason he was glad that Moblit was next to him. He would hopefully have some dampening effect on Hanji. That didn’t mean he had to let him know it.

“Thanks for reminding me I’m an old fart now.”

“If you’re an old fart what does that makes some of us?” Erwin asked, amused as he defended his own food from Mike.

“Two steps from your grave,” Levi replied flatly as he shoved some of the lasagna into his mouth.

 

Gunther was the last one to leave the kitchen, and thus the one that had to hit the play button on the Nightmare before Christmas. The first half hour or so was rather quiet as they all enjoyed their food, there was the occasional snippet of ‘who made the mac and cheese’ which was followed by ‘why mac and cheese?’. Levi poked at the small sample of it he had grabbed and closed his eyes in delight. His elbow shot out to Hanji’s side, ignoring her protests when he knew that she had been trying to steal his food.

 

He liked not being forced to socialize, even though he caught some of the glances his friends sent his way. Even Hanji seemed to be mostly leaving him alone, although he suspected that Erwin had told her to leave him alone at some point.

 

He really shouldn’t have been surprised by the cake after the movie ended, they always managed to sneak it in around him. He didn’t want to know how or where they got all the fresh fruit, but the cake melded beautifully. Somehow they had made it both light and sweet, but not sweet enough that he wouldn’t eat it. He said so and smiled slightly at Petra’s faint blush. It made the raucous singing he had to endure a little more worthwhile. Their singing was slowly getting better over the years, although it might have helped if some of them hadn’t had so much wine over the course of the movie.

 

He didn’t remember passing out partway through the Charlie Brown movie. It was Hanji jostling him that made him realize that he had in fact passed out on top of her. The thought of it made him want to shower badly, but she actually didn’t smell half bad today.

“I thought it might happen so I had a proper shower today.” There she was reading his mind again. He wasn’t sure how she had picked up that trick.

“You’re heading home again right?” He blinked while he swept the cobwebs from his mind before giving a small nod.

“Is it ok if Petra, Moblit and I make you New Year’s Eve dinner?” He stared at her, feeling some trap in her words and knowing he wasn’t still fully awake.

“I’ll make sure that nothing blows up,” Petra added. He glanced over, if she was going to stop them from blowing up his kitchen he really didn’t see anything wrong. He shrugged slightly and Hanji crowed happily.

“That’s a yes! We’ll see you then Levi! Oh the plans I have!” He stared as she went off, followed by Moblit. A slight glance over by Gunther and Erd showed the two trying not to laugh.

 

“You’ve been avoiding those two and just invited them over for an overnight party.” Levi was surprised to hear Mike’s voice, never mind the amusement that colored it. It dawned on him just what he had done, and now that Hanji had permission no force would stop her.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“Moblit will help a little at least,” Nanaba offered. Levi shook his head slightly.

“She’d distract him by almost breaking things in the kitchen and he’d kick her out. Oh fuck, the sneaky bitch. Erwin have you been giving her lessons?” Erwin chuckled and raised his glass.

“Let me know how it goes.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder why we’re all friends.”

“Leeeviiii! Don’t you want a ride or would you rather freeze your fucking ass off?” He could hear Moblit firmly telling her that there was no possible way she was driving and that he hadn’t had a drop and to give him the keys.

“Yes you fucking birthday ruiner. Trapping me when I wasn’t awake,” he grumbled as he headed to the door. The laughter from their friends echoed as the door shut behind him.

 

* * *

 

He wanted the last week to come back. New Year’s Eve came far too quickly for his liking. He didn’t have many hiding places, and he was certain that even if he had hid some of his more precious dishes Hanji would just go looking for them. Hopefully between Petra and Moblit his apartment wouldn’t be too much of a mess though. He never thought he’d be looking forward to copious amounts of alcohol as he was at this moment.

 

He cursed at the first doorbell ring, but felt enormous amounts of relief when he saw Moblit with large bags, one that seemed to be alcohol and the other being food.

 

“I thought I could save some of your sanity if I showed up before the girls.” Levi snorted, he had a point.

“Hide the bottles for now, feel free to dump the food on the counter.” He didn’t touch ingredients, the one time he had, Hanji had yelled at him about putting vegetables on the counter. He hadn’t realized that she hadn’t cleaned the counter yet and had just been preparing the meat. He grimaced at the memory.

 

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Levi raised an eyebrow at Moblit.

“I didn’t realize that I was that obvious,” he remarked drily. Moblit just shrugged.

“Hanji isn’t the most hygienic person, I can imagine what’s making you shudder.” Levi smirked slightly.

“Yet you’re head over heels for her.” He enjoyed watching Moblit blush for a moment, he knew the tides would change all too quickly when the girls arrived.

 

The thought of it seemed to cue the doorbell. He glanced up at Moblit, ushering him to hide the alcohol for now until dinner was mostly done at least. When the younger man finally darted out of view, leaving the bag of food on the counter, he opened the door. He barely stayed upright when Hanji practically threw herself on him.

“Shouldn’t you save that for Moblit?” he growled as he shoved her off.

“Moblit’s here already?” Petra asked. He glanced over, it seemed that in her eagerness to pounce on him, Petra was weighted down with bags.

 

“It’s not that heavy, just awkward,” she explained when he glowered at Hanji.

“Where is Moblit?” Hanji asked. Levi took a step back, she looked far too excited for his liking. Luckily Moblit seemed to have learned some ways to distract Hanji over the years when he heard the toilet flush and the familiar sound of running water.

“MOBLIT!” He flinched at the scream as Hanji darted down the short hall. He opened his mouth to shout at her for not taking her shoes off when they flew just past his face and thudded off the wall.

“SORRY LEVI!”

“Hanji!” Petra squeaked even as she shuffled into the apartment, shutting the door with her foot. Levi couldn’t quite make out the words between Moblit and Hanji, they were both arguing over the other and he didn’t expect to be able to tear the words apart. He wasn’t sure how they even understood each other when they talked like that.

 

Petra gave him a look when he held out his hands for the bags. No wonder she had Auruo practically wrapped around her finger, her face practically screamed ‘don’t break anything’.

“What did you two end up getting?” he asked. Moblit seemed to have the majority of the food so he wasn’t sure what Hanji and Petra brought.

“Dessert.” That caught his attention. He looked up quickly, a question in his eyes that faded with her laugh.

“Good,” he replied. He held onto the bags long enough for Petra to take her shoes and coat off before she took them back. Perfect desserts should be treated properly in his opinion, and he was staying out of the kitchen while Hanji was in the apartment.

 

“Go save the day,” he said gravely as he handed them over. She laughed as she opened the fridge door.

“I thought that’s what Moblit was here for.”

“Hopefully I’ll be more productive than that,” he replied. Levi stared at him for a moment, wondering how the man had managed it. Hanji was actually subdued, arms bound behind her back and he suspected a few towels were missing from the bathroom now. He looked at Moblit who blushed a vibrant red at their looks.

“Her idea,” he muttered and fled to the kitchen. Levi smirked at Hanji as the cupboards clattered open and closed. He flicked his eyes to the kitchen.

“Aren’t you going to show him where everything is?” Hanji raised her eyebrows for a moment before pouting in disappointment.

“You aren’t going to ask?”

“Why would I, you’re probably going to make fun of him later about it anyways.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “If you ever throw your shoes at me like that again you’re going to be cleaning the salon floor to my standards.” She laughed nervously and fled to the kitchen.

 

He waited until he heard her voice and the clatter of items on the counter before catching Petra’s eye and quietly walking to his room.

“L-levi?” she whispered. He glanced back, confused for a moment at her slightly panicked look.

“Oh, we’re just figuring out where Moblit hid the alcohol and getting out a bottle of wine for now.” She seemed to relax a little at that, he had forgotten she had never actually been in his room. He figured that Moblit would deem it the safest place to hide things from Hanji, at least while Levi was in the apartment.

“I’ll check the closet then,” she murmured. Levi nodded and headed to his dresser.

“He hid a red and a white in here. Which should I grab?” Petra asked. Levi glanced over, noting the feel of glass under his hand in one of the drawers.

“Grab them both for now and we’ll put the white in the fridge to chill. That should keep Hanji away from it for now.” He glanced at the label of the bottle he was holding briefly, and smiled ever so slightly before shutting the drawer.

 

“Love biiiiirds where did you go?” He rolled his eyes at Hanji’s voice from the kitchen.

“We were retrieving a particular item you were looking for,” he drawled, gesturing to the bottles that Petra had in her hands.

“The white’s going in the fridge for dinner and you won’t touch it will you Hanji?” he asked. She grinned and held out a hand for the bottle.

“As long as I get some wine while cooking I won’t touch the rest.” Moblit hid his face in his elbow and Levi almost swore he could hear muffled laughter coming from the other man. Hanji pouted so he probably wasn’t hearing wrong.

 

“Well not now anyways. I have to actually string out the drinking otherwise I’ll be done before midnight!” Moblit started chopping again and Levi leaned against the entrance way to the kitchen, watching them all work. He felt a little guilty, but then he was going to be paying them back for all the groceries and half the alcohol anyways.

 

“What are you making?” his curiosity won over as Petra poured the wine into four glasses and slipped them onto the opposite counter before offering him one and settling in on the opposite side of the frame, sipping at her own glass.

“Something to heat up the blood a little.” Moblit gave her a look and she shrugged back at him.

“He needs it! I told you already!”

“I think you should leave him alone about it Hanji.” Moblit’s voice was very firm and Levi was thankful for just one moment that he had moved back.

“Levi isn’t the type of person that just jumps into relationships after all.” The blandness caught him off guard. He wasn’t prepared to deal with all three of them ganging up on him.

 

“No.” He took a sip of the wine, barely registering the taste of it on his tongue.

“I’m just saying it might be nice to talk to someone outside of the salon and their friends Levi,” Moblit explained patiently. “You don’t have to jump on him.”

“Even though you might enjoy it.” He stared across from him. Hanji and Moblit had both turned as well to stare at Petra who was slowly turning beet red.

“I was the one listening to you both! He liked you just as much I swear it! I think he was two seconds away from actually rescheduling his appointment until you talked him out of it. The only person he’s ever had a haircut from is Jean!”

“He probably can’t afford anyone else,” Levi explained, brow furrowed. “He kept mentioning it and student loans are a bitch to pay off to begin with.”

“Then why doesn’t he schedule with any of the other apprentices?” she shot back, taking a large gulp from her glass. “He could easily pick whomever’s easiest to fit into his time slot but he’s always particular and it’s always Jean. The two bicker like you and Hanji.” Levi thought back, he did vaguely recall heated arguments from the opposite side of the salon occasionally.

 

“That was Eren?” Hanji asked. Petra nodded, her eyes on Hanji as the woman refilled her glass.

“It always happens too, boys.” Levi carefully held a straight face.

“You seem to keep trying to set me up with this boy,” he commented. Petra sent him a scathing glare.

“You two argue differently. Jean and Eren half mean it. You two just… you’re weird,” she trailed off. “You kept poking at him and he poked back and you both relaxed. I’ve never seen either of you do that.”

“How long have you been watching Eren Petra?” Moblit interrupted. “It sounds like you have a bit of a crush yourself.”

 

Petra laughed.

“Eren’s the loudest patron ever, no one couldn’t take note of him except for oblivious over here.” She took another sip. “Besides, it’s my job to know people and guess at best fits,” she added. Hanji grinned as she slipped something into the oven.

“Yup without Petra we’d all be lost and inundated in twice the amount of complaints that we currently get.”

“If Petra deals with most of those what have you been doing with your time Hanji?” Levi almost swore he saw a guilty look flash over Hanji’s face for a moment.

“Oh, schedules, checking on the apprentices, seeing if there’s anyone new worthwhile… that kinda thing,” she waved it off as Moblit set a pan to heat on the stove.

 

“Stalking you on Facebook,” Levi added. It was worth adding that to actually see Hanji looking absolutely horrified at him for once. “I walked in on her to let her know I was going home early once and she had your Facebook page up and was muttering something about-” his brow furrowed as he tried to remember, “what was it again.”

“Nothing important!” Hanji interrupted. Levi counted it as a victory since it seemed like her face had increased bloodflow.

“Well I just hope Moblit gets a fucking leash on you at some point so that you stop poking into my life all the time.”

“Then you wouldn’t have anyone to cook for you.” He paused and took in her triumphant stance. She had a point there. He could always switch back to the microwave dinners, but there was just something more satisfying about a home cooked meal.

 

The sizzling of a pan drew the attention away for a moment and he thought he saw a blissful smile cross Hanji’s face from the corner of his eye. When he turned to look at her though, it was gone.

“The point is,” Petra started. “We think you and Eren have good chemistry. Are you sure you don’t want to even see him again?” He shook his head, not noticing the slightly glum expression that crossed his face.

“Even if I did it wouldn’t be same,” he glanced over at Hanji. “I have to act differently when I work, it’s too easy to slip and offend someone otherwise. Most of the shitty people that want me to do their hair aren’t willing to put up with that attitude or find it offensive around their kids.” He spun the glass around in his hands, staring into the red. He’d have to refill his glass soon.

“He got to meet me in a more natural state, it wouldn’t end up happening again.”

“Then just meet him in a more natural state,” Moblit suggested. Levi’s face twisted slightly.

“How the hell can someone pull that off and not sound like a predator?” he asked. “Hey sorry but I can’t act how I want around you how about you come by on my day off and we can hang out at my place even though you barely know me.” The three of them winced, but didn’t say a word.

 

“Maybe the fates will align,” Petra joked. Levi gave her a flat stare before draining his glass and offering it to Hanji to refill.

“Right, and we’ll have spring weather in January,” he replied sarcastically. The timer dinged, catching all their attention. Hanji hurriedly put on the oven gloves and stuck something into the chicken, he couldn’t quite tell what.

 

“Another ten minutes. Moblit?”

“It’ll be ready in time.”

“Clockwork you two,” Levi mused. “Why don’t you live together?” He couldn’t quite tell if Moblit was blushing or not.

“How about if you get us to meet Eren, then I’ll tell you,” Hanji suggested. The grin on her face was wide enough that Levi was cautious. Fine, he’d leave it alone then.

 

He took a step in before stopping as Hanji raised a hand.

“Nope, Petra be a darling and set the table?” Petra hid a smile and put her glass down before opening a few of the cabinets and carefully taking out plates and cutlery.

“I’ll bring out some drink glasses later.”

“Fine, I’ll move the TV and remotes since it seems like we’ll also be drinking at the table then,” Levi grumbled.

“In that case you should bring out the rest of the booze that Moblit hid!” Hanji suggested.

“You say that like I know where it is,” he retorted.

“Nah, just where the good stuff is.” He could hear Moblit whispering to Hanji he’d go and get all the alcohol if she left most of it alone before dinner and if she stopped teasing for the night. He didn’t catch her reply, some times it was startling how quiet she could be considering how loud she was most of the time. He felt like it was going to be a long night, but a small part of him was glad that he wouldn’t be spending it alone but with friends.

 

It would even make the harassing he’d have to endure in a few minutes a little more worthwhile and midnight came all too soon.

 

* * *

 

Weeks later, the weather was still fucking strange, and it was starting to take it’s toll on the staff. He’d been called in, but at least this time Hanji had warned him that people were getting sick left, right and center from the weather change. As a result he hadn’t quite settled into his normal relaxed state and he wasn’t anywhere near as cranky when he got the phone call this time.

 

What he hadn’t expected, was Eren Jaegar walking through the door with shorts on. He found himself eying the boy up and down. He really wasn’t that bad looking, especially since he didn’t look half sasquatch this time. He drew his attention back to his client after hearing Petra’s giggles, briefly catching the boy’s eyes.

 

He was slightly surprised when Kirschstein went out with Eren, perhaps their first impression of the two was wrong and the two were actually dating. He allowed his thoughts to wander slightly while he blow dried the hair, this was his last appointment before his lunch break and he wondered if he should have swiped a five from his jacket earlier to pay for his drink. It was quite possibly Eren didn’t think he was serious about the drinks. Actually, he wasn’t quite sure if he was serious about the drinks after the apprentice had practically grovelled one day they had opened together.

 

It was with some relief he notified Hanji of his lunch break before grabbing his coat to go across the street. He wasn’t going to court a cold unless it was absolutely necessary. Colds meant Hanji and Petra galore and soups. He didn’t mind most soups but chicken soup got really tiring after a week or so and his body had trouble shaking colds and he would still have the mild symptoms after a week.

 

It was the shouting that caught his attention through his auto-pilot. Eren and Jean were just one person away from him and he wondered why the two were here. It seemed like they were discussing his past appointment and he felt his eyebrows raise slightly.

“You already know how it ended, stop it already.” Eren sounded miffed, and Levi didn’t really understand why until Jean spoke.

“Right, you with a boner from your overly sensitive head.” He blinked in surprise, he hadn’t the faintest notion that had even happened, and he could feel just the tiniest bit of respect for the boy now.

“Oh? I didn’t realize that was a problem you had. You hide it well Jaegar.” He resisted smiling when he saw their horrified looks. He would have to startle them more often if they made faces like that.

 

“It-uh- it’s not really a new problem.” The stammer was a little cute, but it seemed like it actually bothered him. He shrugged to try setting them at ease

“Different people have different turn ons.” He had accidentally come across a few of Hanji’s less than safe for work web searches to know that. She was supposed to know better too. Eren still looked uncomfortable and he found that he actually cared and wanted to fix it. He could be a goddamned professional about this.

“If you had told me-” he started.

“Not everyone reacts calmly to it,” Eren interrupted. Levi eyed him as Jean dragged him away whispering. That was experience talking and he wondered how long his hair must have been before Jean was willing to cut it for him. There were more than a few people that would probably find the entire situation awkward.

 

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made for how much Eren had fidgeted, and he had given a light massage too. He rubbed his nose, feeling slightly mortified by his actions now.

“Um, sir?” His attention snapped back up. “The usual?” The barista smiled hesitantly. He gave a short nod and offered the money. She seemed someone relieved and punched in his chai tea latte and sandwich.

“It’ll be just a moment.” He nodded and went over by the counter, just in time to hear Jean’s name.

 

He snagged the one cup, the idiot still owed him a coffee anyways. If he was here with Eren, buying Eren’s coffee then he definitely knew.

“You still owe me a coffee Kirschstein.” He would definitely have to do this more often. If he wasn’t the kid’s senior he wondered what would have happened as he took a sip.

 

Sweet, way too sweet and syrupy and what the fuck was it. He shove the cup back in their direction. Backfire, massive backfire of that plan and thank god he had ordered tea. He could cleanse his palette with that when it came up. It took some effort to keep his swearing to the back of his mind.

“What. Is. That. Atrocity.” he bit out. Jean’s face seemed more horrified before dropping into offended.

“That’s a caramel macchiato.” He couldn’t filter his thoughts in time, the sugar laden on his tongue.

“It’s fucking sugar is what it is. I can’t believe you drink that.” He grimaced slightly, trying to slide the taste off his tongue by swiping it across the roof of his mouth. He hoped he got his tea soon or it would be stuck there for the rest of the day.

“I didn’t tell you to steal it.” It would definitely be the last time that he stole any of Kirschstein’s drinks, or drank anything that Kirschstein recommended.

 

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Well it seems that you remember that you owed drinks,” he suggested. “You’ve seen me far more frequently than Jaegar. What excuse could you possibly have.” Kirschstein fidgeted slightly.

“I thought the grovelling would have been enough,” he muttered. Levi’s eyes narrowed.

“Nowhere close. It just meant I wouldn’t be outwardly hostile.” He glanced sideways at Jaegar adding sugar to his drink.

“Good job getting him in though, he definitely needed it.” Kirschstein seemed to relax slightly.

“I-uh, wanted to ask you something.”

“Spit it out.” He tapped his foot, his food was taking an oddly long amount of time and a quick glance showed an angry customer as the cause. It seemed to be taking him a long time to get the words out.

“Can you teach me?” He glanced at him, that wasn’t what he had been expecting to hear. The automatic answer on his tongue was ‘no’, until he remembered the mess Eren’s hair had been. He frowned slightly.

“Overseeing only.” It was hard to miss the beaming smile that crossed Jean’s face as he went to join Eren. His food was finally up, and habit carried him to his usual table only to find the two sitting there.

 

This was starting to feel too much like one of Hanji and Petra’s plans, and he didn’t like the thought, but he wasn’t going to let two kids take away his normal spot. He enjoyed watching the people walk by.

“I always sit here.” Hopefully that would wipe the horrified looks off their faces again. It didn’t seem to work since Eren just sloshed half of his free drink all over the table. Thankfully, his food was spared. It wasn’t like he wasn’t trying to make the kid nervous, but it didn’t seem to have any effect anyways. He was just jumpy like a cat, even in the knocking things over. He said so much when Eren apologized and bit his tongue when he realized that the word cute passed his lips. Eren seemed fine with the description though and he relaxed slightly. He frowned slightly when Eren said he didn’t expect to see him and he threw a look Jean’s way.

 

He had caught him talking to Petra a few days ago, although he normally wouldn’t care they had stopped when he came by. Petra and Hanji were trying to set him up with Eren, although they had backed off when Moblit had asked them to leave off. Everyone knew when he took his lunch and where.

“What’s your game Kirschstein,” he demanded. He couldn’t catch his eye, but it didn’t seem like Eren could either. He wasn’t going to have any of that. It was one thing for Hanji and Petra to try messing with him, but setting up meetings like this was too far. He leaned forward, dropping his work facade for a moment and he could see the slight terror in Jean’s eyes.

“Tell me you didn’t do this on purpose.” The tension broke slightly with what Levi could only call a clap of a bell, even though it was only Eren’s voice.

“What on purpose?” He had lost control, but he tried to keep Jean’s attention anyways, before leaning back when Jean evidently wasn’t going to answer him.

 

“I always take lunch at this time and he’s been talking to Petra.” He couldn’t keep the frustration from his voice. Jean left when Eren asked about Petra, practically tossing the answer on his lap. They would have words later.

 

Levi took the first bite of his sandwich and tried to rein in his normal crass self. He wouldn’t be able to go back to work like this and he now had less than thirty minutes to regain control of himself. A grimace caught his attention. He had finished his own tea at some point, knowing that it would cool down quickly if he didn’t. Eren’s latte must be lukewarm at best now. Considering the boy’s clothing, he probably preferred his drinks on the warmer side, at least right now.

“Get another one,” he suggested. It didn’t seem like Eren had quite heard him from the look on his face.

“Go get another one.”

“I don’t like wasting food.” Levi snorted slightly as he took another bite. He knew Eren had added sugar, but perhaps if he didn’t add too much it would be fine. The tea had taken the horrific taste of caramel out of his mouth so a packet of sugar wouldn’t kill him now. He could survive with a luke-warm latte. He had spilt a fair bit of it and drank it to the halfway line anyways.

“I’ll finish it. I’m assuming you didn’t add more than that one packet of sugar.” He resisted smiling when Eren shook his head and passed over the latte. Levi took a small sip, prepared for the sugar. He grimaced slightly at the sweetness that invaded the cup, but there was a small hint of something else in there. It took him a few moments to place, especially since it actually seemed to make the sugar levels more bearable.

“Cinnamon?” He waved Eren off when he nodded and took another sip. He would definitely have to remember that combination.

 

There was a comfortable silence between them while Levi ate and he found he actually didn’t mind sharing his table too much if it was like this. Except for the first five minutes or so, although that had been amusing. Eren seemed to be bothered by something though, but he doubted he’d be able to do anything. So the question about his lunch caught him completely off guard. He shrugged and explained it, but Eren’s questioning look suggested that he didn’t believe it at all.

 

“I can’t cook.” There was a slight sigh in phrase, with a touch of regret. He felt slightly uncomfortable explaining the extent of his skills and how Hanji was probably the only reason he ended up eating actual food. If it was any other day where he wasn’t actually working and holding himself back he might have bothered to explain more, but it didn’t matter anyways to someone that was only passing through his life.

 

He didn’t believe his ears and had to quickly bring his attention back when Eren offered to make dinner. He didn’t think that would actually happen. He had talked to Hanji, Petra and Moblit about how creepy it would be if he asked Eren over, but here was Eren almost asking if he could come over. He only half heard the rants falling from his lips as his mind raced for how he could make this okay. He couldn’t stop the small chuckle from falling from his lips as Eren admitted he was making an ass of himself.

 

Petra and Hanji had said having a dinner together soon might be nice, so he might as well surprise the shit out of them. Their faces would make all the hell he’d have to go through later worth it. He had been thinking Friday would be a perfect day, hopefully Eren was also free. College students usually left Fridays free right?

“Petra and Hanji were insisting on a get together soon. It usually involves one of them buying take out. I think they’d enjoy fresh food and buying groceries anyways.” His break was starting to run out. He drained the rest of the latte, he still preferred his tea, but it wasn’t too bad. He returned the dishes to the counter, Eren still seemed distracted by his acceptance of his offer. He didn’t have time to wait for him to snap out of it and touched his shoulder for a moment to get his attention.

“When do your classes end Friday?” he asked. He relaxed a little, it was feasible. Hanji could bring him by since Levi didn’t work this Friday and he seemed to know Jean fairly well, so he could get the grocery list to them that way. He said so much to Eren before leaving, he really was cutting his break close.

 

His heart couldn’t stop pounding as he left, and for some reason his hand was tingling where he had touched Eren.

 

 


	3. Just a quiet night, or not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi learns about cooking and has to scrub his idiot friend's mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So lots of good news!  
> 1) Remmy has kindly agreed to beta this series so hopefully there will be less mistakes that make me want to put my head through a wall when I find them. (That said, if you find any of said mistakes please do point them out).  
> 2) I'm going to be working on this series for Camp Nano so hopefully that means the next update won't take over a month.  
> 3) School is now over so I should be able to write even more!

It was unfortunate that ripping someone apart, verbally or physically, was frowned upon in the workplace. It was just as unfortunate that Jean’s last appointment was before his last appointment. He probably wouldn’t get to see his junior’s face later, although he was suspicious that the entire thing had been planned. He greeted his next client on his way in, instructing her to sit at one of the hair washing stations while he went to wash his hands. He would have to broach the subject of Friday night with Hanji and Petra at some point, although keeping it a secret and just sending them out for groceries was tempting. He grinned for a moment before wiping his face clear and returning out. For once, he might be able to surprise the two girls.

He took advantage of his next break to suggest Jean watch him work for his next appointment. If he was going to end up mentoring the kid, there was no reason that they shouldn’t start now after all. He saw a few raised eyebrows around, his temper with apprentices was quite well known and he saw more than a few sympathetic looks in Jean’s direction as well. He waved Hanji away when she hovered over them both during the appointment, asking if she had some paper work or rescheduling to do because there was no way he’d be coming in on Friday.

 

She looked confused, but he waved her off saying that he’d explain it later, past closing time and after the entire place was cleaned.  


Jean actually wasn’t a horrible person to have watching over his shoulder and actually asked questions after the appointment, instead of during like most other idiots he had to deal with. That he had a little more patience for, questions about the way he cut less so though. When closing time finally rolled around, he was glad that Jean had been gone for over three hours so he didn’t have to deal with even more of a splitting headache.

Cleaning the floors with Petra’s quiet voice on the phone helped, just a little. The painkillers Hanji offered him were just a little more helpful.

“What’s up with you two?” he asked. He paused in his third sweep of the floor to look at them both.

“I swear the only reason you two are being so nice is because you think I’m about to bite your heads off.”

Petra was the one that dared to answer his hidden question.

“Well, we found out that Jean’s actually an old high school friend of Eren’s and asked for his help in something…”   


Levi’s eyebrow shot up as she trailed off.

“Is that why they ended up at Starbucks during my lunch break?” he asked. The quiet titter from Hanji answered his question. He grinned, this was the perfect opportunity to let them know that Eren would be cooking on Friday.

“Well then I don’t feel bad telling you both that you’re doing groceries for Friday, and that neither of you is cooking.” He smirked at the outbursts from the two, how they argued that it cruel for him to pass up food that he might actually enjoy. He started to tune out the arguments, waiting until he finished sweeping before cutting off their tirade. “Eren’s going to come over and cook.” He had thought they were loud before, but the shrieks almost destroyed his ears. He glowered at them both.

“Just for trying to make me deaf, you can both also bring a bottle of expensive wine.” He snorted, the two were almost mirror images of each other now. Both of their faces looked like they had seen something amazing that had also terrified the crap out of them. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. The glasses were starting to weigh a bit and he couldn’t wait until he got home.

“Haven’t those contacts arrived yet?” Petra asked. He could barely see Hanji nod.

“We’re picking them up as soon as Levi’s done cleaning for the night.” Petra glanced his way as he slipped the glasses back up his nose.

 

“How about you get going then,” Petra suggested. “I’ll do the mopping.” Levi stared at her, making sure he had heard that properly. She noticed and continued on.

“You’ve been without your contacts for a little less than a month now Levi, it’s starting to wear on you. Go with Hanji and get your contacts.” A faint smile crossed her face. “Take a picture of her face when she realizes exactly how much money she stepped on.” Levi smiled slightly, lifting the broom up as he went back to the cleaning closet.

 

“For you, sure. Be thorough,” he ordered. Petra nodded as she turned off her workstation and headed towards the supply closet. Hanji grabbed him and began dragging him out the back door.

 

“I can’t believe how far away your eye clinic is given you don’t want to get a car,” she grumbled. He snorted, happily letting his kind, stoic face drop as they left the salon for the last time that night.

“Who the fuck would want to pay the cost of keeping a car downtown and gas when I have a shitty friend with a car I can borrow. Especially when said friend decides to inconvenience me whenever she can.”

 

Hanji laughed. He felt so much lighter now, part of that might be the lack of nose pads digging into his face, but another could be that his long day was finally over.

 

“So how did you manage to get Eren to agree to come over to cook you dinner?” she asked.

 

Levi shook his head slightly as he waited for Hanji to find her keys to unlock the car.

“The little shit suggested it himself, believe it or not. After he almost spilled his drink all over me at my usual table.” Hanji winced slightly as the car chirruped when it unlocked. He swung the door open, settling easily on the passenger side. As messy as Hanji’s desk was, somehow her car was kept practically immaculate. He didn’t want to know if she killed people on the side and that was why she kept her car so clean.

“Plus he isn’t making dinner for me. He’s making dinner for us,” he corrected. “Then he can deal with all your bullshit.” He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should share his thoughts with one of the most conniving people he knew, second only to Erwin.

“He looked almost disappointed today.” Hanji glanced at him for a moment as the engine rumbled into life. He grinned slightly, remembering the look on their faces when they realized that he was behind them.

“After I scared the crap out of them.”

“You scared someone when you were in your work mode?” she asked, startled.

“They didn’t expect me behind them at that moment.” The reason why would remain privileged information. If he was that sensitive to another person’s innocent touch, he wouldn’t want that information getting spread around. He glanced out the window, watching the lights blur into each other. The car ride was short, but it would have been a half hour walk for him.

Picking up the lenses was easy enough, although a small part of him was irritated they had dropped the prices so Hanji didn’t end up paying as much for the lenses as he had. It was a stupid small thing, but one that Hanji recognized and as a result she dragged him out to a bar afterwards for a few drinks, her treat.

For the first time in a while, he went to sleep with a smile on his face. Friday couldn’t come fast enough.

* * *

 

He had heard Petra and Hanji gossiping about Friday and shutting their mouths whenever he came close. He didn’t mind so much, considering that Eren would have to be talking to the two of them about the meal so that they knew what they were buying. His guess had been some odd ethnic food that he probably had never heard the name of would be on the menu.

 

However, now the anticipation was strumming through his veins. Petra had dropped by yesterday to stuff his fridge full of groceries with a very stern ‘do not touch’ talk. So he hadn’t touched it, but it hadn’t stopped him from looking. He could name the majority of the items she had picked up, but he still wasn’t sure how Eren was planning to combine them all into a meal. His eyes darted up at the clock, one P.M. He still had at least two hours before his home would be ravaged by everyone, although he hoped there wouldn’t be as large of a mess as on New Year’s. It had taken him almost a full day trying to get some of the stains out of the floor, and he really didn’t want to spend most of his weekend cleaning up.

 

He gave the entire apartment another going over. There were extra towels in the bathroom, the floors were all clean, the kitchen had been sanitized, and the bathroom soap had been refilled. The living room had been rearranged to seat four comfortably without banging legs into the tv stand or the couch. It had taken him most of the morning to figure out a good layout for that.

 

He sighed and sprawled on the couch, there wasn’t much left to do. He could start a movie while he waited for them; there wasn’t much else he could do. There wasn’t enough time for him to go and browse the shops and too much time for playing games on his phone. His mouth quirked into a small smile, he had enjoyed Fruit Ninja a little more since Petra had told him what the average scores were. He amused himself with just trying to get all the achievements for it now. Less than twenty points was still eluding him though.

He gave into the temptation to watch a movie and scrolled through his hard drive to see if he could find a short movie to watch. He ended up selecting How to Train Your Dragon, mostly because he also enjoyed listening to the music and he didn’t necessarily have to pay attention to the movie itself.

 

He was startled awake by the pounding on the door and a complaint he assumed was Hanji wishing she could just open the door and fuck it if he was actually home and decent.

“Why don’t you go complain to someone that gives a fuck Hanji,” he snarled as he opened the door. Eren looked slightly wide eyed and Hanji laughed as he stood to the side.

“Shoes off or Huffy Pants here will have conniptions about dirt on his floor. By the way Levi, that’s some gorgeous bed head. We didn’t wake you up did we?”

 

He could feel his face slowly turning red as he flattened his hair.

“Shut up,” he growled. “I was watching a movie while waiting.”

 

“What movie?” Eren asked curiously. Levi glanced over at him. He looked better than he had last time he saw him. Mostly because he was pretty sure the shorts he had on last time wouldn’t have looked good on anyone. The glasses caught his attention though and he stored that information somewhere at the back of his mind.

“How to Train Your Dragon,” he replied. He shut the door behind them, automatically locking it.

“You watch Disney movies?”

Levi glanced at the kid, it seemed like he didn’t have much control over his mouth considering how embarrassed Eren looked now.

“It isn’t Disney,” he said flatly. He took some pity on the boy though, “I enjoy the music and _any_ good movie though.”  


Eren glanced around the apartment hesitantly. Levi gave him a light kick in the back of the leg.

“The bathroom’s down that way on the right if you need to take a shit. Otherwise calm the fuck down.” He felt a small bit of satisfaction when Eren gave him a smile and seemed a little less nervous and his eyes darted over to the kitchen.

 

“Go ahead, that’s the main reason you’re here anyways isn’t it?” Eren looked like he wanted to laugh but was still too uncomfortable in his house. Levi sighed and looked over at Hanji.

“How about you show the fucker where you hid everything. Hell if I can find what I’m looking for since New Year’s.” It wasn’t true since he had gone to see where Hanji had put everything afterwards, but left it alone since she had told him that at least then people that actually cooked would be able to find them.

 

“What are you going to do?” Eren asked, his brows furrowed. Levi smiled slightly before replying.

“I’m going to harass the two of you from the doorway.” Eren shook his head, his mouth turned into a slight frown.

“You should at least watch so you might pick up something,” Eren argued.

“Eren we’ve tried that a few times,” Hanji explained. “Levi’s best at small simple dishes that involve only minor uses of anything that involves electricity.”

“Except the blender,” Levi offered. Eren shook his head.

“If I’m cooking, and cooking enough so you have leftovers at the very least you’re going to have to be able to answer my questions while we’re waiting for it to cook.” Eren’s voice was firm, daring Levi to say otherwise.

 

There was a challenge in his eyes, if it was any other person Levi would have laughed and looked away. Eren’s eyes called to him, dared him to push beyond what he was capable. Levi’s lips drew thin and he snapped his eyes to the fridge before folding to the piercing gaze.

“Fine but I’m still staying in the doorway or someone’s going to end up in the ER tonight. We can blow things up when I haven’t just cleaned every surface.”

Eren frowned, it was clear that wasn’t quite what he wanted. It was the most that Levi was willing to offer right now though. His last attempt, under Petra and Erwin’s supervision, had resulted in the latter using a fire extinguisher and having half the kitchen packed away due to smoke damage. If Eren was that determined to make Levi cook, he was buying a fire extinguisher with his next pay check first.

 

“Okay. Did Hanji or Petra tell you what I was planning to make?” Eren asked. Levi relaxed a little as Eren began to take charge of the kitchen.

“Not a word. I looked at the groceries, but I have no idea,” he answered. Eren gnawed at his lower lip, drawing Levi’s attention to them, before he caught sight of Hanji hiding laughter. He glowered at her before glancing back at Eren.

“Well Petra got a bit more than what’s in the fridge because I didn’t know what you had. I’m going to be making two things though, since you suggested I get here earlier I thought I’d do up an appetizer and then the main dish. Hanji told me she’d take care of dessert,” Eren rambled. Levi’s eyebrows rose and he stared at Hanji.

“The usual,” she shrugged. Eren looked confused as a smile worked its way onto Levi’s face.

“Anyways I was going to make pot stickers, they’re a kind of dumpling sort of. For dinner I’m going to make chicken pot pie. I’m going to be using the frozen puff pastry though,” Eren finished. At this rate the boy was going to gnaw his lip off.  


Levi rolled his eyes and leaned against the door.

“Eren, I live off of fast food, take out and frozen foods. Frozen puff pastry isn’t a huge deal.” Not that he really knew what puff pastry was anyways. Hanji laughed, probably guessing that he only had half an idea of what Eren was even talking about.

“It’ll be fine Eren! You can make Petra and I the proper one some time and we might share with Levi so he can educate his uncultured taste buds,” Hanji offered. Levi snorted at her.

“My taste buds are cultured. They’re just adaptive to what’s available to them. I can still appreciate good food,” he retorted. Eren hid a smile. Good, they weren’t freaking out the little college student.

“Okay then.” Eren seemed to settle in a little more as he started to take things out of the fridge. Levi recognized the chicken, ground beef, green onions, something that looked like a root and something that looked like long grass. Eren glanced over at Hanji, who was taking out other ingredients.  


“Um,” Eren hesitated.

“If you don’t speak up she won’t hear you. Fucking oblivious unless she can interfere with someone else’s life somehow,” Levi stated. There was a brief moment of silence, with Eren having a wide eyed look on his face. It seemed like Hanji’s lack of communication was throwing him off.

“Hanji,” Eren tried again. The kid was so meek. Levi rolled his eyes and kicked Hanji hard in the shins. Her screech resounded in his ears and he glowered at her.

“Were you ignoring how you’re the one that has to get shit out because I don’t know where anything is?” he asked.

Hanji stared at him for a moment before laughing.

“Right, right, what do you need Eren?”

“Um, for now flour, salt, oil, a cutting board, rosemary, a casserole dish,” Eren rambled on. Levi tuned him out at that point and Hanji was moving in a flurry about the kitchen. It was almost seamless, there was the occasional bumping of elbows, but he watched as Eren slowly relaxed more in the environment. He was slightly surprised when Eren gestured him into the kitchen. He paused for a moment before Hanji actually dragged him in.

Eren offered a sympathetic smile.

“You should be able to do this much,” he offered. Levi was staring at a pile of flat dough things separated by wax paper and a bowl of meat and green things. Eren grabbed one of the dough circles in one hand and scooped out some meat with a spoon, distributing it in a line across the dough. Levi watched as he pinched the sides together and put it down on an empty plate.

“Just keep them apart or they’ll stick.”

Levi nodded, it seemed simple enough at least. He could feel Eren’s eyes as he started the next one, taking his time so that he could get it as close as possible. Eren nodded and started working on the chicken on another counter. Hanji was thankfully on the opposite corner, away from the stove and the meat.

 

At first Levi was paying attention to everything that was happening around him, how Eren was coating the chicken in oil and rosemary, sticking oranges up the cavity and into the breast. He was aware of Hanji’s voice reverberating with Eren’s in the kitchen, asking about his major and his classes. Slowly everything fell away as he fell into the rhythm of forming the pot stickers. He didn’t even notice when Eren placed a sheet of wax paper on top so he could start a new layer, a portion of his mind just slightly aware of it.

 

The doorbell was what knocked him out of his reverie. Eren caught him as he jolted back, almost dropping the dough he had just picked up.

“Hanji’s getting it,” Eren’s voice pulled him out of the remnants of his reverie. He glowered at Eren.

“No need to look so pleased with yourself,” he snapped. Eren shook his head, smiling widely.

“You were just so into it. Even this is considered cooking you know.” Levi shrugged as Petra came in carrying a bag with what he assumed was wine since Hanji came without any. He glanced over at the two.  


“Don’t tell me you made Petra pay for everything,” he accused.

Hanji looked offended at the thought.

“Of course not! I just had a crisis at work yesterday so she had to be the one to drop off all the groceries, we both went out and picked up everything! Petra’s better at picking out vegetables than I am after all!” she exclaimed. Levi noticed Eren hiding a smile behind his hand.

“Well you’re both better at cooking than I am anyways,” Levi paused for a moment, “except when Hanji’s trying to give us all food poisoning.”

“Well since we’re all here now I guess I can make the first batch of pot stickers,” Eren smiled.

“You’re making pot stickers?” Petra’s hands clapped in front of her and a wide smile crossed her face.“Can I watch? I always end up burning mine to the pot, I’d love to see your secret.” Levi slowly felt the conversation going way out of his depth as the two started comparing recipes.

The hiss made him jump, and the quick covering of the pot had his heart jump.

 

Eren seemed to notice and had a disapproving look on his face.

“You weren’t paying attention were you?” he accused. Levi shrugged, looking slightly to the side.  


“It seemed like you were just comparing recipes,” he admitted. He had completely lost track of Eren even putting the items into the pan. Eren shook his head and sighed, but it was Petra that spoke.

“We were talking about it as you were putting them in Eren, Levi doesn’t pay much attention to things if he can’t understand them so his attention was probably somewhere else.” Levi wasn’t sure what to call the emotion in Eren’s eyes, but only knew that they were calling to him. He begrudgingly stepped closer to the pan and at least tried to listen. Eren’s voice guided him through most of the steps, which he mentally broke down into simpler steps: oil in a non-stick pan and cook until the bottoms are golden, then he had to add water, but not too much and cover it quickly so that the dumplings would steam.

“What did you put in them anyways?” he interrupted. Eren blinked, and Levi was suddenly aware that the girls had disappeared during the short lecture. Their voices suggested that they were looking through his film collection, but he tuned them out quickly enough.

 

“You weren’t watching?” Eren almost sounded heartbroken. Levi snorted and resisted the urge to stuff his hands in his pockets. If he did that he’d have to wash them again, especially since it seemed he’d actually have to help out in the kitchen to some degree.

“It doesn’t mean that I knew what everything was,” he admitted. A flash of realization crossed Eren’s face and he wasn’t sure if he should feel delighted for catching the boy off guard, or horrible because he didn’t recognize the different foods that he had cut up.

“Well it’s ground beef and I minced ginger and chives. There’s some green onions in there too but in thin slices. You know what mincing is right?” Eren asked.

“Cut it into pieces so it looks like mush,” Levi replied. He remembered that particular conversation with Hanji because it had looked like she was trying to prepare baby food with a knife instead of a blender. He caught a small laugh from Eren. Good he hadn’t lost all of his humour in his ignorance.

“There’s also sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and some chicken stock in there. I made that at home though, I have most of those since it’s one of the few recipes I make at school and it wouldn’t be worth buying the bottles for just one meal,” Eren continued. Levi glanced over at the pot.

“Right, so how long are they supposed to be in there?” he asked. Eren peered through the lid.

“Looks like they’re done now.” He lifted the plate and Levi watched him rather than the puff of steam that erupted. The plate was filled with the first set that Eren handed to him with a smile.“Petra told me not to push you to cook yet so do you just want to take it out to them?” he asked. “The dipping sauce is over in the blue bowls in the corner.” Levi saw it, in fact there were four tiny blue bowls and he balanced them carefully before heading out. He paused for a moment, halfway between the girls and Eren.

“You’re going to be okay in there?” Levi asked, hesitating for a bare moment.

“Hanji’s going to have to check her mix in a few minutes anyways. I’ll just be putting the rest on another plate as they’re done. I’ll send them out with her then.” Eren’s smile should be illegal on his face; he felt that he could get addicted to seeing that expression. He gave a short nod and continued to the table.

He pointedly placed the plate and dipping sauces on the dining table, rather than on the coffee table. Normally he wouldn’t mind appetizers around the couch, but given the amount of oil the pot stickers seemed to be exuding, he wasn’t taking the chance with Hanji. He could see her pout, and fixed her with a glare.

“Fine, fine. At least you moved everything so we can see the tv from here,” she grumbled. She grabbed one of the stickers before dropping it with a sheepish smile on her face. “Hot.” He rolled his eyes and looked at Petra, who was hiding the laughter shaking her frame badly.

 

“I can’t help it, they smell too good,” she whined. Her fingers danced on the sticker again as she dipped it and took the first bite. Levi and Petra however, opted to wait a minute or two at least until they had cooled. Hanji wouldn’t eat more than that in the time anyways unless she wanted to actually burn her mouth.

“What is Eren planning to make for dinner?” Petra asked, finally getting a hold of her laughter. “I forgot to ask.”

“Chicken pot pie,” Levi replied. He finally dared to try and pick up one of the dumplings.

“Sauce or no sauce?” he asked.

“Sauce,” both Hanji and Petra replied. He shrugged and dipped it, if they agreed, it must make a significant difference.

His first impression was something fresh and zingy dancing across his tongue, but he couldn’t quite place what it was. His face drew together as he tried to puzzle out just what he tasted. Eren had told him everything that went in it; surely he could at least describe the flavours on his tongue.

“I think he likes it.” Hanji’s chin was propped up on the back of her hand. Petra was leaning forward observing him as she chewed her own dumpling. A scowl crossed his face.

“Since when is this a food show where you have to judge my reaction?” he growled.

“I think the only time I’ve ever seen you make that face is my dishes at Christmas,” Petra confessed. Hanji nodded her agreement as she grabbed another dumpling.

 

“I really do need to get this recipe off him though,” Petra frowned. She stared at dumpling like it would give it all the secrets.

“I would just see how it turns out when you add the oil in batches first.” Eren’s voice had them all jumping out of their seats. His eyes however, were on Hanji.“I just thought you’d like to know that your timer went off.” Hanji stared for a moment before screaming and running into the kitchen. Petra quickly followed, mentioning that she’d make sure that nothing ended up catching on fire.

 

Eren placed the plate he had been holding on the table, a small smile on his face as he took one from the first plate and dipped it into the untouched bowl. Levi observed Eren’s face for a few moments while trying to ignore the screams that were starting to come from the kitchen, at least ignoring it beyond yelling that Hanji would have to pay for anything that’s damaged.

“Are they always like this?” Eren asked. Levi shrugged slightly.

“On bad days. Hanji usually needs a handler in the kitchen or her enthusiasm overflows into too much cooking, not enough paying attention and not enough cleaning. Moblit’s pretty good at keeping her reined in. Although that may have something to do with how the two are old long-distance sweethearts.”

“We aren’t sweethearts,” Hanji argued, flopping back into her chair. She grabbed another pot sticker happily, talking around the food.“We’re a complementary pair. There’s nothing romantic about it.” Levi rolled his eyes at her and smiled.

 

“What was that at New Year’s then?” he asked deviously. Hanji stared at him, looking betrayed.

“I– you – DID YOU DO THAT ON PURPOSE?” she shrieked. He glanced at Eren and smirked, mouthing to him ‘I told you. Enthusiasm.’

“But if you don’t push at a relationship how do you know if you’re really comfortable?” Eren asked. He seemed slightly uncomfortable with the subject as well. “I mean, if something happens at least you know if you work in that level or not, and if you’re already good friends you can work it out.” Levi raised an eyebrow, perhaps Eren had a good point there. That was actually a good summary of what Moblit and Hanji’s relationship was like, testing boundaries.

“It sounds like you’re talking through experience Eren.” Hanji suddenly leaned in close, a devious smile crossing her face.“I’d love to know where it came from.”

“HANJI ZOE. YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME HERE TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESS.” Petra’s sharp voice sounded through the wall, dragging Hanji from her chair once more.

“Oh and there’s just five minutes on the timer for the chicken now Eren,” Hanji informed him. Eren smiled slightly and got up, glancing at Levi.

“Next lesson then,” he ordered.

Levi groaned, he had hoped that he would finally be able to actually get away from the kitchen and seeing what Hanji had done to it. He waved dismissively as Eren looked disapproving.

“I’m coming, I’m just not looking forward to seeing what mess Hanji’s made so that Petra’s screaming at her,” he grumbled. Eren looked almost sympathetic.

“It looks like it will be worthwhile at least,” he offered.

“It is or she wouldn’t be allowed in there,” Levi snorted.

 

There was an odd silence that fell as Eren returned to the kitchen. The less-than-five-minutes were mostly spent with him cutting up vegetables. Levi was able to help with that much, after being shown the maximum and minimum sizes. Eren left the potatoes to him while he was working on the carrots.

He was surprised that when Eren carved the chicken, after letting it rest for a while, he only placed the breasts on the cutting board. All of them snuck pieces of the meat from the carcass until Eren finally gave in and finished carving before putting the pieces away. Levi almost wished that he could have seen Eren’s face as he stared down Petra and Hanji saying that it would be good for future lunches, but there’d be more than enough pie for everyone to take home some.

“It’s too bad you don’t have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker.” Eren’s voice snapped Levi out of his rhythm to stare at him. “I’d show you how to boil down the bones into stock then. It’s simple enough, although a good soup is a little harder.” There was a small quirk to the corner of the boy’s mouth. “Although you can always just toss leftovers into soup as well.”

Levi felt the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

“Maybe I’ll get one then and you can make soup for the salon.” He looked teasingly over at Hanji.“I’m sure people would be willing to pay for good chicken soup.” Hanji seemed to drift off for a few moments into her own land of happiness. Levi didn’t dare start chopping again, ignoring Eren’s questionable look as he mentally counted the time until–.

“THAT’S A BRILLIANT IDEA!” He jumped, despite knowing that she’d shout, at least he didn’t slice open his own hand.

“Would you do that Eren? It could be another day that Levi’s off and god knows he needs to learn how to cook anyways! You could give him lessons at the same time!” Hanji pleaded. No. No, that wasn’t what he wanted from this.

He wished he could go back five minutes and actually keep his mouth shut for once instead of people getting ideas and running to hell with them. He grit his teeth, watching Eren from the corner of his eye. This was out of his hands. He could only hope at this point that Eren would turn her down, he didn’t want this to turn into some fucking food network show equivalent of how Eren teaches some incompetent asshole how to cook.

“Only if he wants to learn.” Eren’s quiet voice broke the excitement that Hanji had been building. He looked sideways for a moment, catching a brief glimpse of a small smile Eren threw his way before he started chopping up the potatoes again.

 

“But Eren–” Hanji pleaded.

“There’s nothing worse than teaching someone that doesn’t want to learn.” Eren’s voice was firm and Levi had a new appreciation for him. He had thought that only Moblit would be able to rein her in like that. She just took his threats in stride for the most part.

“I enjoy cooking, and that someone should know at least the basics, but I won’t force them beyond that,” Eren stated. He could swear Eren’s eyes were focusing on him again.

“I just thought Levi might be interested in helping with these things because they’re easily applied and it’s always nice to have helped make something you’re eating.” There was a quiet hum of thoughtfulness that went through the room. Perhaps he wasn’t so ignorant after all.

He felt a little inadequate when he saw that Eren had finished all the carrots, however he wasn’t even halfway through the potatoes. A pot was sizzling with butter on the stove now, that had some broth quickly dumped into it along with what looked like flour. He frowned slightly until Eren pointed the spoon at his cutting board.

“You have a little more time, but I am going to need those. It’s practice that has me going faster so stop worrying about everything,” he instructed. Levi grumbled and focused on his cutting board again.

 

He could hear the questions around him, but kept his focus on the cutting board. Hopefully it would all be worth it in the end. He barely heard the voice behind him and snapped out of his focus when he felt hands on his body. He flinched away from them slightly, turning to glower up before he caught Eren’s apologetic voice.

“I thought you heard me, I’m sorry. I wanted to show you a better posture and rhythm for cutting is all.”

“What about the filling?” Levi growled. The thought of Eren’s hands on his body made his heart race faster for some reason and he could almost feel blood rushing up to his cheeks.

“Just waiting on the potatoes. Plus I wasn’t paying too much attention to your form earlier,” Eren frowned. “It’s amazing you haven’t cut yourself yet.”

Levi grumbled slightly before relaxing his body again.

“Fine, just don’t scare the shit out of me like that again.” Eren looked at him thoughtfully.

“Maybe it would be better if you observed for a bit?” he suggested. Levi willingly handed over the knife and took a small step to the side, well out of the way for Petra and Hanji. He glanced at them for a moment and wished he hadn’t, there was chocolate and flour all over the counters.

“Eyes here Levi.” Eren’s voice pulled him back and he met his eyes for a moment before focusing on his hands.

 

Eren’s movements seemed so smooth, slicing through each section with such ease that he was envious. It took a few moments before he noticed the boy was rocking back and forth with each slice, putting his weight into the blade as he cut away from himself. If he got to see this more often, maybe it would be worth learning how to cook. He stopped the thought process there and made an effort to mentally distance himself from that particular thought pattern. That was a one way ticket to Hanji crowing happily over everything and overreacting to simple feelings.

 

The potatoes seemed to fly through Eren’s hands until he offered the knife back to Levi for the last one. He had a devilish smirk on his face and Levi wanted nothing more than to wipe it back off.

“Show me what you learned,” Eren ordered. The kitchen grew silent again and he could tell Petra and Hanji had stopped their own work to watch for the moment.

It took him a little longer to adapt what he had seen into action, the rocking motion wasn’t giving him as much power as he wanted until he figured out on the third slice that it was coming from his legs and the rocking was a side effect. The knife seemed to glide so much easier after that and he didn’t feel like he was about to stab himself anymore. His hand position on the potato felt wrong though, and he still hadn’t quite figured it out so that he didn’t feel like he was slicing off his own hand. Overall it was easier and less energy consuming by the time he had finished and he glared at Eren as he set the knife down.

 

He couldn’t name the emotion in the other’s eyes as the contents of the cutting board were added to the pot.

“The knife was dull too by the way. You need to sharpen them,” Eren commented. Levi froze slightly and could hear Petra and Hanji stifling laughter. Eren looked slightly apologetic as he stirred the pot.“But you did learn something.”

Levi growled.

“Yes, I learned that all my friends are pieces of shit and enjoy secrets too much.” Eren looked startled for a moment before a shy smile crossed his face and Levi swore his heart rate increased once again as those eyes met his.

* * *

 

Levi had kicked everyone out of the kitchen while he cleaned. Hanji’s concoction was sitting waiting to go in the oven while the pot pie baked. He had had her dessert often enough, but it was the first time she had practically exploded ingredients all over the kitchen. Eren had offered to help but he had kicked him into the living room. He had been doing most of the work in the kitchen so far, so it wasn’t fair if he had to help in the clean up as well. It didn’t help that Levi was particular about his cleaning, although he avoided using any of the chemicals he normally did, since there was still food out on the counter. The flour on the counters and some stray peelings on the floor however took some time to scrape off.

 

Sometimes he thought that Hanji purposefully made a mess so that he felt like he made an equal contribution by getting his kitchen sparkling clean again.

He had paused for a moment in scrubbing the floors when he caught her voice.

“That’s not even all of it. You should see him when there isn’t any food out he _really_ goes all out cleaning then.” He glared over at Hanji who just smiled and pointed at him.

“You’re going to drip sweat all over your floor!”

“Sweat is easier to clean up than some of your shit. How did you manage to get some of this so stuck?” he grumbled.

“Ah… I spilled some of the melted caramels?” she tittered. He paused in his scrubbing to glare at her.

“You’re lucky the fucking dessert is worth it,” he growled, tossing out the sponge he had been using.

 

He’d either have to warm up the candy again, or scrape it off. He wasn’t sure what was more tempting right now. Sticking Hanji’s head into the oven was just as tempting, although then he’d ruin the pie as well and he had helped make it. He was actually looking forward to trying it.

“Levi, you have that face on again,” Petra interrupted timidly.

“Face?” Eren asked.

“The ‘I want to fucking kill Hanji right now’ face,” Levi said as he stood up. Hanji had long since made her exit. He surmised that she was in the washroom from the sound of running water.

“That’s a normal thing?” Eren asked. Petra hid a smile, but Levi didn’t bother.

“She’s annoying enough that I may have actually given her a concussion before,” he grumbled.

“Don’t worry about it Eren! It’s more that I was running away from him and slipped on ice. He wouldn’t actually hurt me.” Hanji smiled slightly as she came back.

“Nothing’s stopping me from hurting you now,” he replied, tapping a finger slightly. Hanji snorted.

“You’ll want the food first and after dessert you’ll be too happy to actually try and kill me.”

 

She had a point. It was probably the main reason that she just barely stayed on his ‘too important to kill’ list. Along with bringing him take out when he had a bad day and occasionally actually trying to clean up after herself. He glanced over at the oven timer.

“Speaking of food.” The timer blared and he had a small smile as Eren rushed over. The oven gloves had been taken out a long time ago so that he wouldn’t have to open every drawer trying to find them. The smell wafted out as the pie came out and settled on top of the stove. Eren checked the desired oven temperature with Hanji before resetting the oven to a lower heat.

 

“It needs to rest for a little bit before serving. We can set the table in the meanwhile.” There was a small glint in Eren’s eyes.“Then we can open that bottle of white.” Petra laughed slightly as she went to wash her hands before touching any of the settings. Levi smiled slightly before glancing at Eren.

“Wash your hands before helping,” he ordered. He accepted Eren’s nod that he would wash his hands, before he went to the washroom to wash his own hands. That Petra and Eren could use the kitchen sink.

He mused slightly as he lathered up the soap; there was an odd fluttering feeling in his chest that he wasn’t accustomed to. He frowned slightly as he tried to place its familiarity. Perhaps it was the excitement of eating something that he had helped make. It had been a long time since he had a satisfaction quite like that. He was getting ahead of himself though, it was entirely possible that Eren’s cooking was simply mediocre, something that was acceptable but not superb.

He must have taken longer lost in his thoughts than he thought, since he came out to a fully set table and Petra pouring the wine into each glass. She smiled slightly as he approached, hesitating for a brief moment by the chair. It always felt odd to him to sit before everyone was in the room, especially when he actually _liked_ some of the people.

“Feeling uncomfortable?” she asked, her voice quiet enough the other two wouldn’t be able to hear.

He shrugged, that was probably a part of it. He still didn’t quite know Eren, but it felt almost like he was meeting Hanji again. Not in terms of personality but it was how they wore who they were on their sleeves. Just by talking to them for an hour or so he felt he could tell how they might react to certain things. Yet, he still felt like he didn’t know him well enough.

“It’ll be fine,” she assured him. He snorted slightly before moving so he could look into the kitchen. Eren seemed to be dividing up the pie and Hanji was putting her delicious mixture into the oven.

“Levi?” His eyes darted back over to Petra, who was now hovering over a chair now. She had her plotting smile on again. He scowled slightly, the last time he had seen that look on her face Hanji and Moblit had gone on their first date.

“Why don’t you go pick a movie?” she suggested. He snorted; she was trying to get him to stop hovering.

“Jaegar! What won’t you watch?” he called.

“Romance,” was the distracted reply from the kitchen. He could almost hear Petra’s giggles and Hanji’s snickers. They knew him too well. He smirked slightly as he flipped into the romantic comedy section of his hard drive. He enjoyed the more realistic romantic comedies, and this one was his particular favourite anyways.

Eren finally came out of the kitchen, holding the hot pan of chicken pot pie and placing it carefully on the trivets as Levi hit play. The booming pop music blared through the speakers and Levi could feel Eren’s stare on his back.

“I said no romance and you put on Music & Lyrics?” he asked incredulously. Levi smirked slightly and spun the remote in his hand before placing it down. He’d have to wash his hands again though.

“It’s a good movie,” he stated.

“I know I’m just astounded you would purposefully do that,” Eren replied.

“Levi does that to everyone,” Petra admitted. “I told him no horror because half rotten bodies haunt me and then he put on Corpse Bride.”

“I told him no musicals and he put on Dr. Horrible!” Hanji called. Levi wondered what was taking her so long if all she was doing is putting something in the oven. He waved off before going to the kitchen to wash his hands.

 

He snorted when he noticed Hanji scrubbing at the caramel that had stuck itself to the counter. She shot him a small smile before returning to her scrubbing and washed her hands right after he had and followed him out.

“Do you um, say anything before eating?” Eren asked hesitantly. The other three shook their heads.

“Only on his birthday,” Hanji cackled. Levi glared at her and Eren looked confused.

“His birthday’s on Christmas and we have a large potluck with all our friends then,” Petra explained. “But how about we sit and eat now?” There was a flurry of movement and Eren eventually took over serving when Petra looked devastated at dropping half of her portion onto the table.

Levi was grateful and there were a few moments of only Hugh Grant talking while they ate the first few bites of the pie. The pastry on top was surprisingly crisp and the vegetables seemed to just melt on his tongue. The sauce was a little runny for his tastes, but the blend hit just the right spot. The wine was perfect with the meal too. He complimented both Petra for her wine choice and Eren for the pie. Hanji whined about the lack of compliments, to which he told her to ‘kindly fuck off until dessert’s out’. Eren had an adorable blush on his face after the compliment.

 

Levi barked at Hanji when she ruffled Eren’s hair to knock it off and stop being so touchy feely. He ignored the grateful look that Eren shot him, but Hanji just opted to perch herself on Eren’s head instead.

“Why are you so touchy about it Levi?” she whined. Petra had since started clearing away plates and putting food into four separate containers, eager to be away from the tension that was mounting.

“You hardly know him. Stop being all over him like that,” Levi snapped.

“He’s not saying anything though Levi!” Hanji whined.

“You’re too fucking eccentric so he doesn’t know how to tell you to fuck off.” Hanji looked slightly hurt and stood on tip toe so she could look upside-down at Eren.

“Is that true Eren?” she asked. Levi couldn’t see his face, but Hanji was pouting slightly as she stopped leaning on Eren.“I’ll just go and check on the sluts then.”

Eren was shifting slightly from side to side in his chair now, his face slowly getting redder.

“You can go to the washroom to take care of that,” Levi offered. He kept his voice low. Eren shook his head and Levi swore the boy’s face turned even redder.

“I’ll be fine in a moment, it wasn’t that long,” he muttered. “Thanks for stopping her.”

“You have to be firm with Hanji. If you tell her not to fucking touch you and mean it she won’t. If you slam her against a wall pissed off at her she even won’t ever do it again,” Levi suggested.

“What did she do?” Eren asked, his eyes meeting Levi’s for a moment before darting back down.

“Ordered hookers for me on New Year’s. To ‘get the stick out of my ass’ according to her.” Eren winced slightly.

“Hookers? Multiple ones?” he asked. Levi shrugged slightly.

“She wasn’t sure about my tastes back then.”

“Back then?” The kid had an adorable squeak. Levi couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face.

“He likes them full of fire and able to put up with his shitty personality. He only finds people that are one of the two though,” Hanji stated.

“Hanji,” he growled. She shrugged before setting the pan down on the trivets.

“Don’t touch yet! I’ll be back with a better knife,” she ordered. Levi twitched slightly before her words sunk in.

“A better knife? HANJI!” Eren flinched.

“Cool your pants. The dull one couldn’t cut through all the way, it’s fucking fine.” She sauntered back out with a new blade and an oven mitt on only one hand. There was a slight crunching sound as she cut through the mixture. Levi could feel the saliva building up in anticipation.

“Why is it crunching?” Eren asked.

“I uh, may have overcooked it a little,” Hanji admitted.

“It’s cookie Eren,” Levi explained. Eren still looked puzzled and stared down at the pan. Levi couldn’t blame him for being confused since it looked like brownies with caramel sauce drizzled over them.

“They’re slutty brownies,” he finished.

“Probably the only sluts Levi will ever have,” Hanji joked. Levi rolled his eyes at her.

“You’re just upset because the only thing I did with those hookers was watch movies.” His attention was caught by a strange sound that came from Eren. The poor kid looked almost beet red in the face now.

 

Levi couldn’t help the wicked smile that crossed his face.

“Can’t handle it, Cookie? I thought that this was normal in college,” he purred. Hanji stared at him for a moment before laughing soundlessly, slapping at her leg. Eren’s face seemed to get even redder and Levi couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if he was still entertaining his problem.  


“What’s going on?” Petra had poked her head out of the kitchen, rubber gloves still on.

“Hanji was being oddly quiet so I was worried you had killed her.” Levi glanced at Hanji before looking back at Petra.

“I think he might have if she doesn’t breathe soon,” Eren mumbled. Petra looked between them looking confused.

“Well try and get her to stop so I can finish doing most of the dishes. I want to get all the sharps done at least,” Petra suggested. Levi nodded before grabbing Hanji’s hand with the knife and slapping her forcefully on the back. She inhaled sharply and he thought he saw Eren jump for a moment, but a quick glance showed the boy’s face just as red and eyes downcast.

 

“I have to be a nice fuck for work. If you’re uncomfortable with this you don’t have to come over again,” he explained as Hanji finally regained her breath. He was startled to see Eren shake his head before meeting his eyes with a small smile.

“No I just wasn’t prepared for the combination. You and Hanji should have a stand-up routine,” he explained. Levi was startled by that conclusion.“It’s nice seeing you like you,” Eren finished.

 

Hanji had started cutting the brownies again and glanced up at Eren.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked. Levi glared at her, but it didn’t have much of an effect when she was facing away from him.

“At Starbucks he was kind of, here but not here?” Eren waved his hands looking a little hopeless. The red that had stained his face had faded to a dull pink now.“The first time he was mostly there but still not completely. I just… didn’t think it was a completely different persona.”

“Persona?” Levi asked. Eren nodded slightly, Hanji following with a small smile on her face.

“We call it your mask Levi. Or your work face.” She looked a little downcast before smiling slightly at both of them. “I’ll just go and drop this off with Petra now and get a spatula and forks.”

 

Levi frowned as Hanji went off. He wasn’t sure what she was suddenly worried about.

“I’m sorry.” His thoughts were jolted by Eren and he glanced back at him.

“Sorry about what?” He wasn’t aware that Eren had done anything worth apologizing for.

“Everything?” Eren buried his face in his hands. “Misunderstanding? Being an ass when you helped me out? I don’t know.” Levi snorted, amused by how Eren was reacting. He had expected to scare the shit out of him from how different he was, especially given their limited interactions before.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything other than making me cook.” Levi was a little worried about the smirk that crossed Eren’s face.

 

“That’s right, I haven’t quizzed you yet.” Eren’s voice was almost a purr. Levi felt his stomach drop; he wasn’t prepared for this at all. In fact, he had hoped that Eren had forgotten about that.“But in all fairness, for every question you get right you can ask something.” Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Ask something?” he asked. Eren smiled slightly.

“Ask me a question, ask me to do something.” Levi felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly. There had to be a catch to this, it felt too much like a horrible sitcom right now.

“Fine.” His voice felt hoarse. He’d stick to questions, if he even got any of the questions right. Eren’s eyes felt like they were boring into him, inviting him into the depths of a forest to play.  


“I’m back lovelies!” Hanji almost skipped back. Levi cursed slightly as Eren’s eyes left his for a moment and when they met again they didn’t have the same depth to them.

“What temperature was the oven set to?” he asked. Hanji clapped her hands for a moment until Levi shot her a look and she started doling out the brownies onto the plates. Levi felt a small jolt that Eren’s eyes still hadn’t left him, somehow it made him uncomfortable. His tongue suddenly felt dry and his eyes dropped to the left, what temperature had the oven been set to for that pie? He tried to remember and almost jumped when he felt Hanji nudge his foot. Normally she’d nudge him just once to kick him out of whatever reverie he was in. He almost wanted to yell at her for disturbing his thoughts until she nudged him again, four times in total. Was she trying to help? He glanced back at Eren and hoped that it was the case. If not he’d get her back later.

“Four hundred.” The fucking smile could put out someone’s eyes. Eren finally glanced away, down at his brownie and somehow the smile became even brighter.

“It looks delicious Hanji!” he complimented. Hanji wagged her finger at Eren.

“Wait until you try it before you say those words,” she teased.

Eren looked surprised, but Levi took advantage of the short lapse to dig his own fork into a hunk of the brownie, before closing his eyes in bliss. He could ask Eren to do something, he felt awfully wicked all of a sudden, but perhaps that would be something to save for when they knew each other better. It wouldn’t be a good thing to scare the kid away so early.

 

He opened his eyes just in time to hear Eren moan, smears of chocolate showing in his mouth.

“That’s disgusting,” he commented. He felt a small jolt when Eren looked at him and tried to keep a blush from rising in his cheeks. 

 

“Holy fuck can you not make that face?” he breathed. He was slightly thankful that Hanji and Petra were keeping quiet, brownies in their own mouths. Eren just smiled at him, with a fake sugary smile.

“What face?” he purred.

“The ‘I just had fucking fantastic sex for the first time’ face.” Eren’s smile grew.

“Is that a face you’re familiar with then?” Levi almost fell out of his chair. After his reaction to the hooker comments that was the last thing he expected Eren to say.

“I guess not then,” Eren hummed. Levi was still too blown away to actually formulate a witty comeback and settled for kicking Hanji’s chair when she started to laugh again. At least Petra was being polite enough to hide her smile behind her hand. Or at least, he thought he was safe from Petra throwing him under the bus.

“Levi has particular tastes.” His fork fell and Hanji’s laughter grew even more. He buried his face in his hands. This had been such a horrible idea. He had thought that having Hanji and Petra here would make Eren more at ease, not that it would result in his ultimate humiliation.

“What solids go into the pot stickers?” Levi felt a wave of relief pass through him, not only had Eren completely changed the subject, but he’d asked a question that he knew the answer to.

“Ground beef, ginger, green onion and chives.” He could almost feel the smile in Eren’s voice.

“Two for you now. Do you remember the liquids?” Fuck no he didn’t. He glared at Eren, how could such a little shit have such an innocent expression.

“Not beyond rice vinegar,” he replied. Eren gave a little shrug.

“I’ll just have to make them all with you next time then.” Eren hesitated for a moment before looking slightly to the side. “If it’s okay that is.”

Levi could feel Hanji and Petra looking at him expectantly, practically willing him to answer. He sat back for a moment, eying Eren. It had been the most fun he had had for a while, and the brat had even caught him off-guard with a comment or two. A corner of his mouth twitched up slightly. Did he want to see Eren like this again?

“Of course.”


	4. Chaos and Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the dinner and Levi's first day working with Jean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the weight. Remmy willing, the next chapter will be up fairly soon though!

Levi huffed slightly after Eren and Hanji left. He had a vague suspicion that Petra was only staying later so she could question him. He shook his head. If he thought about it too much he would question himself.

“Levi—”

“I don’t know,” he cut off. He stared for a moment while Petra laughed.

“I was going to ask if you wanted help to clean up,” she teased. He decided that he didn’t like that mischievous smile on her face and was going to say something until she continued. “But since you brought it up—”

“Yes fine, you can stay and help,” he groaned. Sometimes he hated himself and his wretched ideas that just tended to get him into more trouble. Petra didn’t seem to want to let the topic go though.

 

“You invited him over again,” Petra stated. “You haven’t ever connected to someone that fast.”

“Hanji,” Levi shot back with barely a thought. Petra laughed even as he grimaced as he realized just _why_ that had been a bad example.

“We both know that Hanji just inserts herself into people’s lives,” she grinned.

“I actually feel a little sorry for him,” Levi mused. “Maybe I should have warned him about that.” She would probably know everyone in his dorm by the end of the week.

Petra shrugged as she dug out the sanitizer he hid.

“At least you’ll have something to discuss before Valentine’s Day.” Levi paused his clearing of the table to process that information.

 

“Valentine’s Day,” he repeated flatly. “Any particular reason you mention that date?” He definitely didn’t like the smile on her face.

“Oh your last appointment on that day just _might_ just be Eren,” she smiled demurely. He stared at her for a few more minutes. He had thought Hanji was conniving and cunning, but he didn’t think that Petra would be so determined to set him up with someone either.

“You and Hanji have been watching too many romantic comedies,” he replied flatly before placing the dishes into the dishwasher. Everything so far had the makings of a freaking romantic comedy, complete with the oblivious male, although in this case they would probably both fit that bill. He briefly wondered who Eren’s wingman would be before he brushed away the thought. Petra only shrugged at the accusation.

“We weren’t expecting you to reach out to someone.”

Levi frowned slightly. If they weren’t expecting it, then why had his new shadow gone out of his way to interrupt his lunch?

 

“I thought that you and Kirschtein…” he trailed off. It clicked suddenly. He had come to the conclusion the three had planned it out, but he hadn’t actually heard the three of them talking.

“Jean wanted to know how you got along with Eren. Actually, he seemed really pushy about knowing how you two reacted,” Petra offered. Levi leaned back at the wall, staring out the window. He liked that Petra gave him the time to think, compared to Hanji that would have just pestered him until he shoved her head under the seat cushions.

“Maybe he likes the little shit,” he finally suggested. Petra shook her head quickly.

“Hanji asked on their way here. She mentioned it to me in the kitchen. Eren was quite vehement that they don’t have any kind of relationship outside of the salon.”

Levi sighed and plopped on the couch, motioning to Petra to sit beside him.

“Why?” he sighed at the ceiling. He could feel Petra’s confusion emanating from her and elaborated. “Everything. Why are you two so hung up on trying to make us a pair and shoving us at each other, why the fuck does Kirchstein even give a fuck about if we get together if the three of you aren’t all plotting behind my back and _why the fuck did I agree to mentor that asshole_?”

 

He flinched slightly at Petra’s touch on his back, not quite expecting it. He relaxed back slowly, glancing over at her. She seemed to be thinking, trying to find the right words.

“You remember how you said Hanji and Moblit just… exude this feeling when they’re together?” she asked. “Hanji alone gives you this feeling of overwhelming energy and Moblit is just a steady rock, but together they move at a pace discernable to the human eye?” It was the last time he was going to share metaphors with Petra, he swore. He closed his eyes, replaying the old conversation in his mind. It seemed everything he said she managed to throw right back at him. She waited until he opened his eyes before continuing.

“Well, you and Eren give us, me, the same feeling. You were kind of… broken, separated before and with him you were more… whole. You weren’t fragmented between your work and yourself and you had someone to be that with.” He winced internally at Petra’s description. Except she wasn’t entirely wrong either.

“You realise you’re drawing these conclusions after two fucking meetings right?” Levi growled. Petra only shrugged and smiled slightly.

“If I’m wrong, well Hanji has someone else to bother and I’m sure they can use her expertise with some of their homework at least.” Levi smiled a little at that comment. It dropped as soon as his phone beeped. He glanced down to see a message from Hanji. He rolled his eyes before opening the message.

****

**_Annoying-ass-scientist_** _10:42pm: Fucked up. Can’t BELIEVE eren’s a meister holyshit. Smart boy for our sourpants_.

Levi snorted at the message. He was only slightly surprised that she said she had fucked up, it was almost a given that would happen with a new social circle. Especially given her personality. The rest of the message made no sense whatsoever, which was a little odd for Hanji. He was used to pulling up the dictionary app on his phone to double check words she used, but individual sentences usually made sense. Unless she was drunk.

 **_Annoying-ass-scientist_ ** _10:45pm: Clarify: burned eren’s hands by mistake. Check on later. Remind._

That was a more worrying message and he found his mouth opening and closing slightly. How had she managed to _burn_ someone’s hands in that amount of time? He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to bang his head against a nearby wall.

“What happened?” Petra asked, peering at him.

“Hanji,” he replied. “Hell if I understand it all. She couldn’t have been there for more than… what? Ten—twenty minutes? How the fuck…?”

“She probably has his number by now… you could check on him later,” Petra offered. He shook his head; he could vaguely remember his own mishaps with Hanji. Usually he didn’t want any contact with her the day or so after.

“Two days at least before I’m going near her, and if it was bad I’ll fucking rip details out of Kirschstein for all the shit he’s been putting me through lately.”

 

He glanced over at Petra, scowling slightly when he saw her hiding a smile.

“You do know your language gets worse when you’re worried right?” she asked. “You don’t normally let people get under your skin so easily.”

“Maybe I just felt sorry for the brat both times,” he scowled. Petra gave him the look that curdled Auruo’s blood, and he’d be lying if he didn’t feel at least some of the ill effects.

“You? Feel sorry?” she accused. She held up a hand as he opened his mouth. “Not that I’m saying you don’t ever _feel_ sorry, but you barely let it affect your usual actions. Unless it’s someone _special_.”

“Like Hanji,” he grumbled. Petra snorted slightly at his quip.

“You should call her you know. She’ll probably be home soon and I should head out if I’m taking the morning shift.”

Levi raised an eyebrow and she shrugged slightly and stood.

“Maybe I am too nice, but it certainly helps balance you out,” she smiled.

“It certainly does,” he admitted and stood as well to see her out.

 

He sighed after Petra left, forcing a promise from her to let him know when she got home. At this rate with everyone pushing the kid at him, something would happen. Hopefully something that didn’t involve him calling friends to help hide a body. Now he found himself wondering just what had Hanji all ruffled. His phone buzzed, and he wondered if Hanji had somehow engineered herself to read minds at some point.

 

 **_Annoying-ass-scientist_ ** _11:00pm: Rdy to talk?_

 

“What the fuck did you do?” he asked the speaker as soon as he heard the click from the call.

“Well good evening to you too! Thank you _ever so much Hanji_ for snooping around Eren’s place. Well actually it was his friend’s but—”

“Hanji. What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do?” he growled. There was a slightly silence on her end before her tone dropped.

“I didn’t mean it Levi. I just wanted to talk to him, and his friend was about to break down. He was pouring tea and he didn’t realise I was there. I wasn’t _trying_ to catch him off guard.” She stopped talking abruptly and he began to suspect something. Perhaps all of Hanji’s ‘mishaps’ weren’t quite mishaps after all. He sorted that into his mind to look at later, but for now she needed to talk. There were a few moments of silence before she continued, her tone seeming to be thankful for the time to gather her thoughts and slowly picked up her usual tone.

“I mean, he’s probably okay and all. He looked like he knew what he was doing. Not sure why that kid doesn’t want to be a doctor, he’s got the attitude and drive that I saw at least!”

 

“Hanji,” he stated, waiting for her to wind down a little. “Do me the same courtesy.” The line went quiet again.

“I wonder if you’re astute or oblivious sometimes,” she replied flatly.

“I think the same could be said for you.”

“Our friends would have a shit if they realised half the discussions we had without them.”

“We’d go insane without these discussions.” He smiled at the empty air.

“The only downside is your shitty humour.”

 

Levi rolled his eyes at the phone.

“No really. What the fuck happened,” he asked.

“I was worried was what happened. I don’t have enough information to share all of it though. It would affect your work.” Levi sighed into the phone. That was the downside for cutting through all of Hanji’s bullshit, she didn’t actually hide her concern anymore and it was harder for him to just mentally brush it off.

“What would shitty brats possibly know that could affect my work?” he growled. Dead silence greeted his question.

“I’ll tell you when I finish gathering information.”

“You can’t ever stop can you?” he sighed.

“A genius brain never stops,” she murmured. “You and Moblit appreciate that cost.”

“Yeah well, Moblit would eat your shit and I’m close enough that I would be able to smell it.”

Laughter rang in his ear.

“I was wondering how long until you started that up. You really are a little shit when you’re in the mood.”

“A big shit you mean.” He scowled at the phone. Hanji always liked to sneak in short jokes when she could. It had become a little bit of a game for him to catch them and for her to sneak them in.

 

“Whatever the fuck you are. But Eren should be fine, I’ll check with his friend tomorrow morning to make sure that’s still the case at least.”

“Don’t fucking wake them up on a Saturday morning. Fuck it’s like you forget what it’s like being a student.”

“...Students sleep?” He could almost see the inquisitive tilt of her head through the phone.

“They fucking better after you scalded one.”

“Oh! Like that recovery sleep period! Got it!” That wasn’t what he meant, but he supposed that Eren and his friend might appreciate the little extra sleep they might get. He had forgotten that Hanji still maintained her odd sleep schedule past her graduation. There had been more than one odd scream at odd parts of the day when someone would wake her up.

“Don’t call them until ten Hanji. And don’t fucking stay up counting the time down, we’re both working in the morning.”

 

“You were an ass about that,” she grumbled. “Putting a get-together when I have a morning shift.”

“I don’t make the schedules,” he replied flatly.

“Well. At least you just come in later because Jean works the weirdest fucking hours. You’re the one that offered to mentor him, so don’t complain to me about your weird times later.”

 

Levi sighed and closed his eyes, wondering what had possessed him to do that. Maybe it was the kid’s balls to ask him for help, for guidance.

“Maybe I’ll teach you at some point not to swap my tea out for decaf then,” he grumbled.

“Well you got Eren out of it, so I’d say you won that one.”

“Fuck you Hanji.”

“I love you too. I’ll go to sleep now if you do.”

“Fuck off.”

“Night.” He glared at the phone speaker before blacking out the screen. Fucking Hanji.

 

* * *

 

He blinked against the morning sun. It felt entirely too early to get up, despite knowing that he was actually waking up later than normal. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to kill Hanji or not for making him go to sleep when she did. Somehow she worked far easier on less sleep than he got. It was probably the only way that she managed to juggle all of her research on the side.

 

He stretched out on the bed, taking the shortest of glances out the window. Rain. It was fucking raining in the middle of January. He sighed and sank back into the bed for a moment. So far it felt like this morning would be the flip side to last night. Miserable and long.  A quick check of his phone verified that it would be raining all day, and that Hanji was still a shit. He glared at her message full of what he _assumed_ were rainclouds. It was followed by another message that was more down to business; letting him know when Jean was working and what hours he’d have his new shadow to look after.

 

He sent back a quick message calling her a bitch and as a last thought asked if she had checked up on Eren yet. He silenced his phone as he slung himself off the bed towards the shower. He would have to reclaim his Insanity DVDs from Erwin soon so that he could have his rainy-day-workout.

 

The shower went quickly and a smile flitted across his face when he saw the leftovers in the fridge. It was a little endearing that Eren left him food, and he would definitely have enough for lunch. He wondered for a moment if it would be worth dealing with Hanji to get a chicken salad recipe. He vaguely remembered versions of it with a creamy sauce and something tart, but she had her own delicious flair as well.

 

He tossed some bread into the toaster and went to get his phone while he waited. Hanji seemed to have read his mind again, offering several threats of what would happen if he tried to cook by himself and that helping out once didn’t mean he was ready to be unsupervised yet. He rolled his eyes and ignored her. She hadn’t mentioned anything about Eren, so he supposed she was asking them now.

 

He waited for her obnoxious tone again while he put together a container of his lunch. He was surprised that his toast popped up and not a peep from Hanji. Perhaps the day wouldn’t be—His thought cut off as Hanji replied. He slathered the toast with peanut butter and jam and shoved it into his mouth before he glanced at her messages and typed back one handed.

 

 **_Annoying-ass-scientist_ ** _9:36am:_ _First bordering on second degree burns, some pain with hand movements and going to get someone else to help him with notes. Sounds like his friend helped out a lot too. Shift at 10:30am don’t forget._

**_Levi_ ** _9:40am:Ill chck on later. Shut up and wrk alrdy._

**_Annoying-ass-scientist_ ** _9:40am:You’re eating aren’t you! You better have not used the stove! See you soon!_

 

He scowled and turned the screen off so he could at least try to enjoy his mediocre breakfast. He could barely remember mornings when they all lived in the same house and the delicious smells that would waft through the kitchen. Most of them fought for the right to cook, but he made sure all their living areas were actually clean.

 

At least she seemed more put together than last night. Her usual diction had returned to the texts. He would have to check on Jaeger later, it was unlikely that he would have given Hanji the entire story since she was somewhat responsible. If he had gotten the right impression of the kid.

 

He glowered at his windows again as the rain continued to pour down the glass. At this rate they wouldn’t even have a proper winter. The only places that might even have some atmosphere of winter would be the indoor rinks and he was _not_ trying that again. He huffed and glanced back at the kitchen. He probably had just enough time to scrape the last of that infernal caramel sauce off the counter and floors.

 

Instead he found himself grabbing his perfectly packed lunch in a hurry and dashing through the rain, getting soaked, to dash into work just in time. He gave a small nod and grunt to Erwin. It seemed that someone had called in sick or with broken limbs again. He never understood how it wasn’t Hanji, despite her recklessness. At least Erwin would ream him out later for starting late. Hanji would have started poking him at the door.

 

He began to breathe deeply, letting his more active consciousness sink into the abyss. The never-ending irritation he felt smoothed out into a lake. He always felt like his movements were smoother at work, with less extraneous movements. He managed to half dry himself and put his lunch in the workplace fridge before Erwin made his appearance.

 

“I know already,” Levi sighed as he slowly opened his eyes. He glanced back and found himself slightly irritated by Erwin’s amused look.

“Know that your appointment rescheduled,” he drawled. Levi’s lips twitched slightly as Erwin continued.

“I do wonder how you found out since I kept it from a dear friend so we’d have some time to talk.” His boss’ eyebrows rose and Levi fought to keep himself calm.

“Then ask your question already,” he bit out.  Erwin’s smile was starting to creep him out. The man had an uncanny knack for retaining information and using it later.

 

“Is it bad of a friend to ask how a night went?” Erwin asked innocently. Levi shot him an incredulous look.

“It is when a certain other friend is there.”

“I thought that you were well covered. Especially given there was someone new to study.”

 

Levi sighed and leaned against the fridge. That was what Erwin was digging for then.

“It went well. I have leftovers in the fridge and Hanji made a huge mess again.” Erwin just hummed and looked thoughtful. Levi rolled his eyes and stared at him, willing himself not to break first.

“Will I get to meet him?” Erwin finally asked.

“I don’t know. Will you?” he retorted. That earned him a chuckle from Erwin and spurt of laughter from Hanji, who was just poking her head into the kitchen. If Erwin wanted to meet someone, there were no ifs, ands, or buts. He would make it happen and they all knew it.

 

“That’s your third cup,” Erwin’s tone brokered no argument as Hanji refilled her mug.

“Bullshit, I was dealing with an emergency.” She flipped her hair and placed a hand on her hip. “Levi can tell you.”

Levi snorted and looked in the opposite direction. There were a few moments of anticipatory silence, waiting for someone to give in and break the silence.

“Just tell me what happened,” Erwin gave in. Levi and Hanji grinned slightly and basked in one of their few victories before Hanji began to explain.

“ _Weeeelllll_ , Eren made this _beautiful_ chicken pot pie last night. I actually brought some of it for lunch! If you ask nicely you can have some!”

“Maybe I’ll just ask him to make it for me,” Erwin replied calmly. “You said there was an emergency. In the kitchen?” Levi was grateful that he didn’t glance his way and Hanji remained the focus of his attention.

 

“Of sorts, not in Levi’s kitchen, in Eren’s.” She fidgeted a bit and dropped her gaze.

Erwin sighed and looked slightly sympathetic.

“You’ve started to bother him already.”

“ _No_. Levi actually wouldn’t let me call him today until after ten to make sure he was okay!”

Erwin began to massage his temples at that point and Levi was holding back his own laughter.

“We’re going to finish talking about this later. Hanji, no more coffee until after lunch, and then its half decaf. Levi, you’ll have some free time with Jean. Stay nice.”

 

Levi gave him a mock salute as the two left. Stay nice, he certainly knew well enough. It wasn’t going to stop him from questioning Kirschtein though. Now that he knew he wasn’t in league with Hanji and Petra as a friend of Eren, he wanted to know why he wanted to irritate the shit out of him on his lunch break earlier in the week. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves again, letting the threads fall into place. Stay nice.

 

“Hey, did Erwin mention that the bitch cancelled?” He could tell it was Kirschtein and suddenly his perfect black tea in front of him wasn’t so perfect anymore.

“No, I’m back here for my mental health. It isn’t working,” he replied flatly, keeping his eyes closed.

“So you had a shitty night sleep too then.” He could hear the boy just flop into one of the chairs. He slowly opened his eyes, resisting the urge to sigh at the youth.

“I had a passable night, only partially due to your ridiculous stunt,” he replied flatly. Kirschstein flinched and he took slight pride in that.

“You weren’t working with Hanji and Petra so what were you doing?” he asked, staring at him. He fought to keep his emotions under control, his lake cool and not boiling and every thread of his persona in place. He was at work; he couldn’t let himself slip because of one ludicrous attempt to improve his lack of a love life.

 

“Why the fuck do you care?” was the reply. Levi’s grip around his mug tightened and he stared him down.

“Language,” he murmured. “Is the first thing you’ll have to learn about this workplace. There isn’t a door between our _clients_ and the break area. Hair dryers only do so much. Don’t think Erwin or Hanji would save you if a mother comes to them complaining about their kid learning something from one of us.”

 

He seemed to sit straighter at that and looked more upset than frustrated.

“I—”

“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t happen, but sometimes it’s better to be cautious, especially if the clientele you deal with are mostly kids,” Levi interrupted, taking a sip from his mug and thoroughly enjoying his baffled look. He opened and closed his mouth a few times watching him before Levi set the cup back down.

 

“I didn’t think you dealt with kids,” Jean deflated.

“I deal with ones that aren’t turning around every thirty seconds and being bratty. You still haven’t answered my question.” He spun the mug around. He kept his gaze on Jean while he tried to avoid meeting his eyes.

 

“How was the night?” Jean blurted out. He held up his hands as Levi’s face snapped down into a scowl. “I just… I need to not think about mine so I can actually answer. Change the association, if that makes any sense.”

“It doesn’t,” Levi replied sharply. He paused for a moment before deciding that Kirschstein looked uncomfortable enough that he should at least make the attempt.

 

“Hanji made a mess like usual, your awkward ass friend made an appetizer and dinner. Hanji made brownies and I cleaned up the kitchen. We watched Music & Lyrics. Hanji drove your friend home.” He listed blandly, keeping an eye on Jean. He seemed disappointed.

“That’s it?”

“What were you expecting us to all to break into song and dance the night away? We aren’t children on work nights.”

“Wait does that mean—“

“Answer. The question.” Levi almost growled. Kirschstein seemed to keep dancing around the subject and he was beginning to lose patience and calm. He glared over Kirschstein’s head as Hanji mouthed from behind him.

 

“Fine. Let me reword the question. You have something to gain by trying to shove Jaeger at me. What is it?” That seemed to make the brat even more uncomfortable if possible.

“Can I ask you one question first and I promise I’ll answer that?”

Levi tapped his finger against the table impatiently.

“Are you upset because of it?” The brat seemed nervous as he asked, but his question did merit some thought. He had been irritated by it at first, but the overall result seemed to be in his favour so far. He took another sip of his tea while he thought about his answer. A wave of amusement went through him when it seemed that Kirschstein was growing more nervous.

“No. Not so far.”

 

“Okay,” Kirschstein sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to relax a fair bit.

“Okay. I just thought you two seemed to get along well. He’s been a pain… in the rear really and… I wanted to confirm something for myself.” He gave a weak laugh. “It was a stupid idea really but, well like I said you two seemed to hit it off?”

 

Levi tapped a finger against the side of his mug and frowned at his apprentice.

“Your first lesson then. Don’t mess in your co-workers lives unless you actually know them. It’s irritating and not everyone has a nice work face. They just keep their nasty one on all day.” He paused for a moment to gather more thoughts. “Just for that I should drag you here for his next appointment and make you deal with him for once.” Kirschstein turned red at that suggestion and looked a little sheepish.

“I would deserve that.”

“So now that we have that settled.” Levi stood up and finished his mug before giving it a quick wipe in the sink.

“Shall we get to work?”

Hopefully this would be the worst of the crap he would have to deal with this weekend.

 

 

 


	5. Fairies and Pies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi puts up with Hanji some more and somehow gets talked into visiting Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might just start dating the chapters instead. Would anyone mind that?
> 
> Also I just wanted to shower you all in love and nice thoughts. JAT has hit over 100 kudos now. (Actually I've been finding it hilarious that AAOT has less hits, kudos and bookmarks for some reason ahahaha.) But I love all of you that read this and you always make me feel special. There is now an ending planned, but I have nooooo idea how many chapters it will be to get there. I'll shut up so you can read now.

Levi slammed the door behind him, slightly irritated that Hanji seemed to know all of his weaknesses. She made herself at home, already flicking through different movies on his hard-drive.  
 “Don’t act like it’s because of me you’re so pissy!” she called. He still hadn’t figured out how she could get her voice to carry through the kitchen walls.  
 “Then how about you stop pretending you don’t know the reason,” he muttered to himself as he put on the kettle. He always needed tea when Hanji was over alone. Either they had their heart-to-heart or her crazy conversations where he’d pretend to listen. He wasn’t sure which he found weirder.  
 “I do know why!” he heard from the couch as jungle sounds filtered in.  
 “Fucking mind reader.” It felt weird swearing so soon after he had finished his shift; his control hadn’t lessened enough yet so that he felt comfortable with it.  
 “Nah I just know you that well.”  
 He glowered at her, now leaning against the door frame.  
   
 “Still having trouble?” her smile slowly dropping. It seemed today might just be one of her heart-to-heart days.  
 “I always have trouble,” he grumbled. “First five minutes just sets everything up. It’s hard to switch back.” He rubbed his temples while waiting for the kettle to boil.  
 “You seem to be getting along better with your apprentice now,” she teased. “Or at least you aren’t huffing as much. Actually I’m surprised that you have as much patience as you’ve shown. I thought I’d give you a chance to scream at me so that you’d spare the salon.”  
   
 Levi paused for a moment to take in that information. If he managed to get into his ‘alternate’, as Hanji liked to call it, he was typically less aggressive towards mistakes than usual. It didn’t stop him from banging his head against the fridge when he got home though. Then he was more than irritated with the lack of progress he was seeing in his days. The extra few minutes to explain something that, he found, was completely obvious.  
 “What do they even teach them now?” he grumbled.  
 “Well you had all the hair you wanted to practice on because we were all cheap fucks,” Hanji replied cheerfully. “Seems that Jean just has two sets he’s practiced with and they all like the same functionality for their haircuts!”  
   
 Levi stared at her for a few moments. “When did you pick up so much about hair?”  
 “Well I was just making deductions when I was listening to you coach him.” She touched a finger to her chin thoughtfully.  
 “I think he also needs to learn how to suggest styles to someone. I mean, he’s just been giving them what they ask even if it might not look too nice with the person. Eren’s probably a good example.” She frowned slightly. “Although from what I heard the boy needed a haircut, period. We’ll find out though I suppose! Are you going to make him sit in with you for that?”  
   
 “Probably,” Levi grumbled. “He wouldn’t be able to afford my rates normally, so ‘Stein should learn how to treat his hair and what-have-you.”  
 Hanji hummed and hawed. He took the time she was silent to get out two cups and a teapot. The kettle was only moments away from boiling. He opened his copious tea cupboard, waiting for the inevitable.  
 “Anything new?”  
 His lips twitched slightly, tugging into a smile. His entire body relaxed at the familiar question.  
 “One,” he admitted. He nudged it forward with his fingers, catching it easily when it toppled.  
 “Aren’t you going to tell me?” Hanji complained.  
 “Not when you’re eating some of my leftovers,” he retorted. He glanced over to see her smiling sheepishly.  
   
 “Moblit enjoyed the leftovers too,” she admitted. Levi raised his eyebrows slightly.  
 “He is staying with you then?” he asked. She shook her head and seemed slightly downcast.  
 “He’s got his own place still. He stayed the night though… well, I feel like he was staying because of me rather than him wanting to stay.”  
 “Hanji, if he didn’t like you he would have left five minutes after meeting you.”  
 “He feels responsible for me,” she argued. Levi sighed and began to count the teaspoons of leaves into the filter.  
 “He cares for you or he wouldn’t have told you he came back.”  
 “You were the one that said I don’t hear no. That I’m _oblivious_ to the word.”  
   
 Levi leaned against the counter, taking note of the time before he focused on Hanji. “You push what needs to be pushed,” he sighed. “Fuck Hanji, you get me out and keep me from getting lonely. You don’t listen to no from me because you know that. I complain to you to complain about how much control you seem to have.” He tapped the counter. “Yet I appreciate it too.”  
 “Levi, you’re ignoring the problem.”  
 “So are you. Isn’t that why you and Petra are shoving fucking Jaegar at me? Like it isn’t bad enough that Kirschstein was experimenting.”  
 “You were shoving yourself at Jaeger just fine. We just sat back and watched.”  
   
 “Are you asking for help or not?” Levi snapped. Hanji laughed, a tint of nervousness hidden in it. He took a few moments to remove the filter and pour two mugs. It seemed to help her relax a little, even more so when he shoved a mug at her.  
 “I brought some tarts I made,” she commented. He raised an eyebrow.  
 “I appreciate the thought, but last I remember your tarts were more like pies.” She gave a half shrug.  
 “Moblit still calls them tarts.”  
 “Did he help?”  
 She laughed and gave a small nod while taking a light sniff at the tea. “I’m not entirely sure what’s in it,” she admitted. “Beyond ginger.” He gave her a small nod and took a sip of his own. It was slightly tart and sweet. He smiled slightly while watching her puzzle it out.  
   
 She continued to puzzle through it the velociraptor drawing a man through its cage and his dying screams.  
 “All I can really gather is ginger and something that seems tangy, but I can’t quite… _Lime! Is it lime?”_ she shrieked. Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. He almost had her. He glanced at the mini-pies, wondering if he dared risk it again. He glanced sideways at her and saw her expectant look. It seemed like he was going to risk it.  
   
 It was better than her previous attempt. The pastry was nice and flaky this time rather than a goopy mess. The fruit however, was much sweeter than he liked.  
 “Better,” he mumbled, covering his mouth to prevent the spray of pastry across his floor. “Sweet though.”  
 Hanji gave a nervous laugh.  
 “We bought the pastry and Moblit tried to stop me from making the filling but I felt like it would help him relax.”  
 Levi swallowed before he could choke himself from laughing.  
 “You in the kitchen is the _last_ thing that would make him relax. You’re a walking disaster Hanji!” He paused, knowing that it would hit her hard, especially right now. “Moblit’s more sensitive to that. That and he cares enough about you he tries to stop the situations where you would get seriously hurt, or hurt someone else.” A thought occurred to him and he couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle. “He’s your public liaison.”  
 “What… what if I want more?” she asked. He felt a little nervous from the intensity of her stare. He wondered if she saw the irony in asking _him_ of all people about romantic problems.  
 “Don’t give me any bullshit about how you have no clue either,” she said sternly. “You know the two of us and you know how…” she frowned.  
 “Similar we are?” he offered. She gave a short nod and glanced back to the television to watch the champagne pop. He took the time to think over possible answers.  
   
 It was an odd relationship, but most of the time Hanji was just being her airhead self. It was rare that someone was exposed to her more concentrated, intense side. Although he was quite certain that given the amount of time Moblit had helped Hanji, he would have been exposed to it at some point.  
 “Have you asked for Eren’s number yet?” she suddenly asked, breaking his concentration. He blinked for a moment to reorient his thoughts.  
 “Why would I do that?”  
 “Well,” she rolled her eyes. “For one, you said he was welcome to come back and cook you dinner. It’s a little hard to do that if you can’t actually communicate with each other.”  
 “He has his stupid pony to carry messages,” Levi grumbled.  
 “Pony?” Hanji asked quizzically. There was a moment of silence before it clicked and she was lost in a fit of giggles over the side of his couch.  
   
 “Levi,” she gasped through the giggles. “You do not.” She lost herself again. “Not want him to carry your messages.”  
 Levi rolled his eyes and waited for her to calm down enough that just opening his mouth would make her lose herself laughing again. “I don’t want to sound like a stalker,” he grumbled. “Besides, if I’m desperate enough then I can just go to you. You keep bugging him too don’t you?” he accused. She gave him a guilty smile and shrugged slightly.  
 “I feel responsible,” she muttered. “Hell I feel responsible for a lot more now too. Not just for him but…” she drifted off and seemed to stare into space. A normal person would think she was just particularly enraptured by the dinosaur science, but he knew the odd glaze in her eye. It was his usual sign to run, or kick her out. He didn’t quite feel the same urgency this time though.  
   
 “You should meet him.”  
 Her tone scared him a little, a small shiver working its way up his back. He had already _met_ Eren. He had no idea who she would be talking about.  
  “One of Eren’s friends! He lives across the hall from him. I mentioned him to you once I think! The same day that I went over!”  
 “You aren’t helping your case,” he commented, taking a large gulp of tea.  
 “Come on! It’ll be fun! We can just make something simple that you can make here so Eren doesn’t have to come here too often to make you food.” He sighed, it didn’t seem like there would be an easy way to get out of this now that she was all hyped up. He always got tired so easily when she swung from worried to outright jubilant at the toss of a hat.  
   
 “Ask first,” he ordered. She frowned until she caught the look on his face. The last thing a set of university students needed was entertaining people the night before a midterm or a big assignment. Gods he heard enough whining about that from Kirschstein about his friends and their plans.  
   
 “Fine,” she whined. Her smile dropped. “But then I do want advice before I go tonight if they say no.”  
 “Does that mean I can withhold if they say yes?” he muttered quietly to the side.  
 “No.”  
 He winced at the answer; he hadn’t meant it in a hurtful manner. He had hoped that it would have been quiet enough that she wouldn’t hear.  
 “I pick up things easily,” she smiled softly. “It’s… it’s part of the reason I left. All the things they said that they thought I couldn’t hear or because they thought I was asleep.”  
   
 He ruffled her hair lightly and offered the barest of smiles in return.  
 “Advice doesn’t come easily to me.”  
 “Levi, the only things that come easily to you are horrible jokes and insults.”  
 He chuckled a little and took another large sip of the tea.  
 “You will think about it though?” she implored  
 “Maybe you’ll get lucky and one of your ‘maistros’ will be able to help you.”  
 She stared at him quizzically for a bit.  
 “Oh! The meisters? No, I doubt it. One of them has enough of his own troubles in the matter and I think Eren’s mostly ignorant to just the extent of the problem,” she frowned slightly. “I’m somewhat torn about asking him about it to be honest, I’m still not sure if I know enough about them that I should stick my nose in.”  
 “Yet you continue to stick your nose into their business,” Levi shot.  
 “No, I’m continuing the lines of communication so that I might be able to actually _help_ them.” She frowned and he was slightly worried about the sudden severity in her posture. Something about the kids was bothering her a fair bit. “He’s in a bad place mentally right now Levi, I want to help but I’m afraid to. The last time I tried…”  
 “Gunther,” he murmured. She gave a small nod. That entire episode had left them all in shambles for a while and he didn’t know Hanji’s full involvement. Gunther had only mentioned that it was because of Hanji that the two had even gotten together.  
 “What was her name again?” he murmured. Hanji gave a dejected shrug.  
 “I think I’ve forgotten,” she admitted.  
   
 “Could have been worse,” he commented. She scowled and crossed her arms at him.  
 “You could have been trying to convince Isabel that he wasn’t always a horrible roommate,” Levi smirked. Hanji stared at him for a moment for collapsing into herself giggling.  
 “Okay, yes that would have been the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had. Oh, I wish I could have been there for that.”  
 Levi frowned and twirled his cup. “How did we get to Gunther and his lack of luck?” He could almost see Hanji tracing back the conversation before she almost screeched at him.  
 “ _Eren!_ You need Eren’s number! Plus I need to ask if we can go over. Courtesy of Levi,” she grumbled. She flipped through her phone while rain pounded on the television and he groaned when she unlocked his phone so easily.  
 “Please, it’s not like you made it hard,” she muttered. “Birthday geez, never even heard of security. Your internet passwords better not just be ‘password’.”  
 “What’s the internet?” he joked flatly.  
 “Harharhar,” she snorted. “Awww, Eren is swamped. Let’s see if Armin…” she trailed off, tongue between her teeth again before letting out a cry of triumph. Levi swore as she knocked some of his tea onto the floor.  
 “ _Victory!_ ” she cawed.  
 “You didn’t even text him,” he accused.  
 “Nope, he wanted me to come over to help with some project his has or something. Dinner?” she asked. “Maybe Eren’ll be around still.”  
 He snorted thinking that she thought that it would possibly change his mind.  
 “I’ll pick up a pie on the way?” She inched towards him, giving him her expectant and hopeful look. He could feel his resolve waver, but he also didn’t want to deal with her excitement when he was hoping they’d have a mostly quiet night.  
 “Pumpkin?” she added. He sighed and held a hand out for her cup.  
 “You know far too much about me,” he grumbled.  
 “You know far too little about me,” she teased. “Why else would you have tried those tarts again?”  
 “Blind hope that the little scientist that lives in your head actually broke down the process and you got it right this time.”  
   
 “Maybe another time,” she waved him off. He took his time to wash the mugs, a little disappointed that the tea wasn’t done, but they, or just he could warm up the tea later on. He could hear the click of the television as he set the mugs onto the rack to dry. It wasn’t worth the dishwasher for a few mugs.  
 “Armin said he’ll cook something up.” He would have to ask her for her trick for speaking through walls some time. It actually wouldn’t surprise him too much if she was somehow able to hear him through the wall either.  
   
 “You don’t trust my cooking?” he asked, faking hurt as he smirked at Hanji from the kitchen doorway.  
 “A raccoon wouldn’t trust your cooking. I’m driving over, you coming?”  
 Levi hid a shudder. He had no idea why Hanji insisted on driving anywhere. His own two legs were just fine. On the odd occasion when he wanted to go somewhere further the buses were usually fine. So long as they weren’t the common ones during rush hour. The pressing of bodies against each other made him feel a little queasy, mostly from the smell they all exuded.  
   
 “I’m not _that_ bad.”  
 “You are if you haven’t showered recently,” he retorted. “Just tell me what fucking dorm he’s in and I’ll find my way there. If not I’ll call you. You can interrogate him to your heart’s content then. If you don’t get stuck in traffic that is.” Hanji laughed and waited for him by the door. “He’s in Smith, should I come get you when you finally manage to find your way?”  
   
 Levi laughed. No wonder that she was treating him like he was stupid. She had told him that last week. The Smithy, the same residence she had been in when he would go and crash her parties or ‘stay-awake-fest’s.  
 “I think I’ll manage Hanji. I still stand by that I might arrive there before you. Almost definitely if I end up running there. Especially since you have to buy that pie,” he pointed out. She snapped her fingers, causing him to sigh. She would have forgotten that out of everything.  
 “If you’re there without pie Hanji I’m going to leave,” he threatened before shoving her out the door lightly. She skipped happily down the hall while he locked up.  
   
 He tilted his head for a moment while walking to catch up, trying to label the song she was humming.  
 “No.” he cut her off as he figured it out. “It’s not the fucking wizard. It’s a sad shithole full of despair and rot.”  
 “Hey,” she protested. He glared her into silence.  
   
 “You were _just_ as bad while you were in school. Fuck why do you _think_ I kept visiting you?”  
 “I thought you enjoyed my company since I was one of the few to put up with your verbal diarrhea,” she grumbled. He gave her a half smile. It was somewhat true, they had an odd working relationship, even while Hanji was in school and he had his work.  
 “No. I was afraid if I left you alone in that pissbucket I wouldn’t have found you in the forest of shit you accumulated and never bothered to clean up in there.” He tilted his head to the side slightly and nudged his glasses up a bit to see her better. “You really didn’t notice the cleaning?” He could tell she was thinking as they descended the stairs. Hanji knew better than to take the elevator when he was around. The last few times he had caught her at it he only had to give her a disapproving glare. Moblit did enough of the ‘you need to exercise’ talk.  
   
 “I guess I just thought I had fairies, or I sleepwalked,” she admitted. She scratched at her head and glanced at him with a sheepish look. “I guess my household fairy just happened to be named Levi.” That startled a laugh out of him.  
 “Well then, your fairy is saying you need to sleep more and work less.”  
 Hanji shook her head and he sighed. “Nope! It’s my turn to look after the fairy that took such good care of me!”  
 “Maybe you should do that for the fairy you call Moblit first then,” he retorted, trying to compress the instinctual panic that rose in him. Hanji trying to look after him... he didn’t want to even imagine it.  
 “But Levi—”  
 “Nope, you have to deal with the fairy that currently helps you first.”  
 “How can I do that when my past fairy hasn’t been properly thanked? In fact I think he doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.” Levi rolled his eyes. If he didn’t want to deal with Hanji he would have moved away when she came here for school. Instead he had found himself craving her insanity and the life she gave back to his life. Even if he wanted to throttle her half the time she tried to help.  
   
 “I worry about that fairy you know?”  
 Levi looked at her. She worried about Moblit?  
 “About you, you fairy dumbass. I’ve known you for half of my life and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a relationship.” Levi sighed as they hit the bottom floor.  
 “A person doesn’t need a relationship to be happy Hanji.”  
 “Actually—”  
 “A _love_ relationship for fuck’s sake. Don’t go pulling your ‘actually’ shit on me.” He knew humans craved at least some means of communication with each other. Something about being mentalities and people that couldn’t form those bonds were serial killers. Fuck, he didn’t remember. She deflated slightly and he only felt moderately guilty. Hanji was a fountain of knowledge, but if you didn’t cut her off at the root it would just devolve into a mess of noise he didn’t feel like listening, or thinking about tonight.  
 “I’m just worried you don’t even seem curious. Most are.”  
   
 “Are you implying I’m actually like most people?” He raised an eyebrow at her and she just laughed and shrugged.  
 “You’re more than most people than you think. You just don’t like most people and let it be known. That’s how you’re different. Well, this part of you anyways,” she amended.  
 “You think Eren’s one of the few I like,” he stated. She flinched at his flat tone before shrugging again.  
 “I don’t know, but I know for sure that you’ll regret it if you at least don’t try to get to know him.”  
 “How does that equate to meeting his friend?”  
 “Oh uh, that’s something different.” She winced. “There’s something else going on there that you need to know and I’ll share the rest of my suspicions with you about it later.”  
 “Didn’t you say it would affect my work if I knew?”  
 “That was then. If I’m right though, Eren just might want to talk to you today.”  
 “He said he was busy.” He tried to inflect his tone with enough ‘no’ that Hanji would just drop it. Instead she just gave him her fucking ‘I know more than you do and I’m right’ look. He hated that. He loved it when she gave someone _else_ that look, but not when he was on the receiving end.  
 “You’ll see,” she replied cryptically before breaking into a grin. “Now, I’ll race you there! See you with a pumpkin pie!”  
   
 He was relieved that she dropped it and that he had his own thoughts to himself on the way to the university. It wasn’t a short walk, but it wasn’t too long either. She had also given him plenty to think about on the walk down. It hadn’t slipped his mind that she had brought up the relationship troubles with Moblit and then tried to sideline it.  
   
 Somehow she had turned that entire flow of conversation against him. When it came to prying information out of people, Erwin and Hanji definitely had him completely outclassed. When the two of them worked together it was almost frightening. He had seen it only once. That had seen the end of Gunther’s long-term relationship with a compulsive liar that happened to be a con artist. A very good con-artist.  
   
 Her cryptic messages worried him a little too. He wasn’t sure what exactly was involved with Eren’s friend, and quite frankly he wasn’t really sure if he wanted to know. What he did want to know though, is why she thought that Eren might want to outright talk to him when he had said he was busy. He wasn’t going to interrupt any studying that he was doing. He might be an asshole, but he wasn’t that much of one.  
   
 Then there was Jean, whatever the fuck he thought he was doing. He stopped walked for a moment as a conclusion came to him. Jean would affect his work, his annoying little shadow. If Eren’s friend’s information might affect his work, it was most likely that it would affect it through Jean. He didn’t know what could possibly make it so that it would change his opinion of him though. Or how that information would change his interactions with Eren. He found his brain walking in circles as he stopped in front of the Smithy doors. He had found the nickname quite fitting the last time he had been here. He doubted it had changed that much since. University never seemed to change over the years, except for the cost of it if the papers were right.  
   
 “Are you Levi?” A hesitant voice broke him out of his thoughts as he turned around to see a blond with one of the most outdated hairstyles he had ever seen. He raised an eyebrow at the boy, looking over him. He was tidy at least, and seemed to have been crying recently. The blue eyes seemed to have lost their uncertainty and the thin lips turned up into a smile.  
 “Well, Hanji was right that I’d be able to tell right away,” the boy said. “I’m Armin, Eren’s friend across the hall.” Levi glanced down at the hand before shaking it.  
 “What did she tell you?” he asked. Armin sighed and glanced at the ground.  
 “Look for someone that looks like he has a stick shoved up his ass and is pondering different methods of how to remove it.” The blond looked like he was expecting Levi to yell or something at the description, but he only laughed and took a second look at him.  
 “You must either be smart or cunning to deal with Hanji,” he commented. Armin just gave him a half shrug.  
 “Can’t it be both?” He hesitated a moment before he continued. “It actually helps having someone older to talk to about things. Never mind an alumni. She’s pretty easy to get along with if you’re the right person I think.”  
   
 Levi laughed at the thought. He had known Hanji for _years_ , and he knew that she was still hiding things from him.  
 “You are smart. Not as smart as you think though.” He smiled slightly at the ground.  
 “People think they can understand Hanji at the drop of a hat once she opens her mouth. She does it on purpose. People don’t change their actions as much if there’s someone they consider beneath them in the room. She can make you think that she’s just another mad scientist. She’s a crafty bitch and you’ll regret it if you underestimate her.” He watched as Armin’s face turned from curious to thoughtful. Maybe this one could also counterbalance her, he’d have to watch them both. Fuck her for getting him involved with more people he didn’t really want to give a shit about.  
   
 “I didn’t know you cared that much, little fairy.”  
 He closed his eyes at her voice and cursed himself for even daring to let his guard down.  
 “I’m going to shove a garden statue down your throat if you call me a little fairy again.”  
 “Sorry to embarrass you!” she chirped.  
 He felt one of his eyes twitch at her reply.  
 “Sorry I took so long Army! I was picking up a pumpkin pie for after dinner, it was one of the few ways to drag Grumpy Pants out.”  
 “It’s normal to bring food when you’re visiting someone asshole,” he cursed. At least she had remembered the pie.  
 “It’s fine, maybe Eren will drop by for some later.” Armin smiled as he waved his key card to let them in.  
   
 “What did you need my help with?” she asked, swinging the bag with the pie until Levi took it from her. She didn’t know how to properly take care of good food. He grumbled inwardly about it, about the mess that was the dorm hallway and the smell that permeated the building until Armin swung his door open.  
 “It’s actually part of a project,” he explained. “I needed to interview someone for it and I was hoping that you would be willing to answer some of the questions we had prepared.”  
   
 He wasn’t sure if he had ever seen Hanji struck speechless before. It was an interesting look to see her with and he couldn’t help but take a snapshot of it with his phone. The click seemed to be enough to snap her out of her shock.  
 “What’s the topic?”  
 “Research ethics,” he gave a small smile. “I thought you might have a good opinion about the changes that have been made over recent years.”  
 “Well—I don’t know, but I’ll see what I can do!”  
 Armin grinned, and Levi hid a smile at Hanji’s baffled look. Forget pictures, he should just take a video of the entire situation. He was certain that Moblit and Erwin would find the results of it very interesting.  
   
 “Well, I’ll just make dinner then, I’m just making pasta and using up leftover meat sauce. I hope that’s alright?” Levi rolled his eyes, he wondered why the hell they would mind and it wasn’t like he could say anything since Hanji had still banned him from use of the stove.  
 “No, I’d rather have prime rib with a side of mashed potatoes and out of season greens,” Levi deadpanned. Hanji shoved an elbow into his side, making him roll his eyes at her.  
 “Excuse our lame joker there. He loves pasta and doesn’t get much of it.”  
 Levi gave Armin a small nod to reassure him. The thoughtful look worried him a little, it reminded him of something but he wasn’t quite sure.  
   
 “Feel free to make yourself at home until then. All my papers of any importance are in the bedroom so don’t worry about what’s out.” Armin promptly moseyed over to the kitchen with a large pot of water.  
 “So Armin,” Hanji drawled. Levi felt himself shiver at her look. “How’s it going with Jean?”  
 Levi glanced over, slightly curious by the sudden bang as the pot went onto the burner.  
 “Fine,” he answered. Levi raised his eyebrows, the strain in his voice was evident even to him. He glanced over at Hanji who just pressed a finger to her lips. Be quiet, got it. He rolled his eyes at her before setting his chin on his hand and mock sulking.  
 “Armin, you were a tad hysterical earlier. I don’t think you want me here just for that interview.” Levi watched Armin’s actions hold just a touch of anger, and he would have bet his scissors that this was with him suppressing his feelings.  
 “Come on Army, who am I going to tell? I have stake in this now too you know.” Levi sighed, starting to feel like he was missing half the conversation. Yet she wanted to drag him here for some reason too.  
   
 “You know everyone that is involved,” Armin argued. Hanji just gave him a sympathetic smile.  
 “Yet no one would believe me. Actually one of the two people that would believe most of what I tell them is in this room.”  
 “Keep me out of this,” Levi scolded. He was pretty sure that he didn’t want to be involved with this. He definitely didn’t want to give Hanji or Petra more ammunition to use against him.  
 “But you’re _already_ involved,” Hanji whined.  
 “Only because you and Petra are plotting vixens.”  
 “Wait, what’s going on?” Armin asked. Levi rolled his eyes and looked off into a corner while Hanji explained what had happened at Eren’s appointment. What she left out though, probably because she didn’t realise that he knew about it already, was the Valentines appointment. Armin was laughing by the end.  
 “No wonder he was so annoyed by the end of it! Jean was so worried you’d kill him too.”  
   
 “How do you all know each other?” Levi asked. The three seemed odd personalities to all be friends. Then again, Hanji, Petra and himself were an odd set as well.  
 “Highschool,” Armin explained with a smile. There was a brief silence as he set a timer and tossed all the pasta into a pot, stirring it continuously.  
   
 “Why are you still stirring?” Levi asked, seeing that all the pasta was in the water.  
 “Oh, that’s just an odd trick Eren taught me. Most pastas will stick to each other just in the first minute or so of cooking so—”  
 “Stirring them in that time stops them from sticking,” he finished. That actually made a lot of sense.  
 “You aren’t making pasta any time soon Levi,” Hanji warned. He just snorted and looked away from her.  
 “Leviii”  
   
 “Why not?” Armin interrupted. “Not much goes wrong with pasta.”  
 “He melted a pot to the stove.” Armin opened his mouth. “Then set fire to the kitchen making eggs,” Hanji finished. She threw her hands to the air. “ _We’ve tried!_ Well he _could_ cook if he really wanted to!”  
 “If I didn’t mind her scheduling me with all the snotty nose kids at the salon and all the bitchy people.” He closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. “It’s an effective threat.”  
   
 “ _But Levi!_ If Eren’s there—”  
 “Wait, Eren went…” Armin smacked his forehead. “I should have put that together!” He glanced at the timer and the pasta.  
 “Actually, would you mind taking a bowl of the pasta over to Eren while Hanji and I do the interview? I’m not sure if… if he’s angry at me.” Levi raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth, but Hanji beat him to it.  
   
 “Armin, did something happen with Jean?” she asked. He was glad that he wasn’t on the opposite end, she could be intense when she wanted to know something and he could see Armin wavering.  
 “Eren and Jean… we were going to play a card game and they just…” He rubbed his arm and busied himself with the pot as the timer went off. Levi glanced at Hanji, but she seemed content to wait for the information now.  
 “There’s a betting pool for when Jean and Armin will get together,” Hanji explained to him quietly. He raised an eyebrow; _that_ was what would affect his work? He found it odd she was telling him about it in front of one of the two as well. She read him well because she just laughed.  
 “If it was me, do you think I’d know,” she asked. He grunted an affirmation. Except that Armin also wasn’t Hanji, but he wasn’t going to go pointing that out to her.  
   
 Armin took a deep breath at the sink before he started talking to it.  
 “Our friends all had a party last Saturday. We started to play truth or dare, stupid I know. Jean… Jean got dared to kiss Eren.” Hanji winced and Levi just tried to observe the two of them, trying to understand exactly _what_ the problem was, and why the fuck he should give a damn about any of it.  
 “He-he did it. B-but.” Armin took in another deep, shaky breath. “Eren kissed him back. He. He didn’t mean to, I know he didn’t mean to but… I can’t just forget about that. Today, the three of us were going to play a game. E-Eren needed some help with dishes. It’s stupid,” he grumbled.  
 “Armin,” Hanji warned. “You’ll feel better once you get it off your chest.”  
 “They fight a lot.”  
 Levi snorted at that. Hearing them from across the salon was more than ‘a lot’. Intense. Idiotic, he wondered how many more words he could think of that would probably describe that particular relationship.  
 “They were keeping something from me, then they were getting into another argument and I… I just couldn’t get that image out of my head.”  
   
 Levi snorted, drawing one sad and one offended look at him. “I’m just imagining them as two tomcats hissing at each other and swiping each other at the face but being nice when the other has food,”  
   
 A small smile broke across Armin’s face.  
 “That’s… pretty accurate,” he laughed. “Oh geez, I’m not going to be able to unsee that when they’re fighting now.” He doubled over with laughter. Hanji took the opportunity to mix the cold sauce in with some of the bowls of pasta, making them the perfect temperature. Supposedly. She shoved two bowls at him.  
 “Now, you go play nice with Eren!” Levi stared at her, then glanced down to the bag she brought.  
 “What, don’t you trust me?”  
 “No,” he answered easily. “You’re too crafty and outmaneuver me. I want the pie as compensation.” Hanji threw up her hands, but he knew she didn’t really mind as well.  
 “We’ll save you two a slice though.” He smirked. Armin redoubled laughing while Hanji rambled at the ceiling. He waited for her to calm down and notice that he was still there.  
 “ _Why are you still here? You have your pie!_ ” she shrieked. He raised an eyebrow, and Armin burst out laughing again. It seemed that he was the sort of person that had the persistent giggles. Thankfully he wasn’t in the same boat.  
 “H-he’s. A-a-across th-the hall,” Armin managed to get out. Hanji smacked her forehead and began to rant to the ceiling again. Levi took that as his queue to grab the pie and leave.  
   
 It was surprising that the door was open; Eren struck him as more of the careful sort that would have kept his door locked. It definitely looked like there had been a fight of some sort. He placed the bowls and pie onto the counter before closing the door behind him quietly. Eren wasn’t in sight, but hopefully the shithead wouldn’t mind him cleaning up a little. He cleared off the table, moving the chairs back into a close proximity to the table as well. It wasn’t until he started to wipe down the table that he heard the kid. He barely glanced up while Eren took in his presence.  
   
 He snorted at Eren’s offer. He was probably thinking that he was a student looking for help.  
 “Unlikely,” he replied as he finished wiping down the table and stood to look Eren in the eye. He wasn’t even sure if Hanji had warned him they’d be coming over, but judging from his next comment that wasn’t the case. He rolled his eyes at the idea that Hanji would put him up to this.  
 “No to both,” he replied. He hated getting rides places, especially when they were well within walking distance.  
 “Although,” he admitted. “Hanji is the reason I’m here.” He took the time to take in Eren’s appearance. There was something just a bit off with him, something he hadn’t seen before. Eren’s glasses were a bit askew, possible from many things. But there was just something in how he carried himself as well. He blinked to reorient himself to finish answering the question. “She was rather insistent I get your number,” Irritating so. “But Armin wanted to make sure you ate.” He watched Eren carefully, his posture sinking from whatever it was to more of a guilty one. That he remembered seeing before in the salon.  
   
 He resisted the urge to sigh as he remembered Hanji’s request to ‘be nice’. He shifted the bowls to the table while Eren seemed to be lost in thought.  
 “I’m not going to eat you Jaeger, although if you don’t sit down so we can actually eat I might resort to that as a last measure.” The laughter startled him a little though and he couldn’t stop the frown from forming. It hadn’t been _that_ funny, so something else set him off.  
   
 He resisted rolling his eyes as Eren explained that ‘feeding him’ was only Armin’s excuse to prevent leftovers. He threw back some comment or other about his friends also being bottomless pits while they were at school. He was pretty sure that spending so much money on food was almost a rite of passage or something for them. Luckily he didn’t have that same issue. He grimaced when Eren asked if he wasn’t the same. If the pattern held, there would be a short joke in three… two… one. He kicked the boy lightly in the shin just before he finished the joke and snorted at the yelp of surprise.  
 “If you call me short again I’ll make you wish you had just let your friends freeze your clothes,” he threatened. It had been one of the few tidbits Hanji had let slip when she had finished laughing at him. It was starting to get tiring that she took so much joy from the tentative friendship that was forming. Or mentorship, whatever the fuck this was becoming.  
   
 Eren had balls though, asking if he still had one shot since he hadn’t finished. Perhaps they would get along well. He eyed him, contemplating the possibility before he sat down.  
 “One,” he gave in. “Now sit the fuck down.” If he didn’t eat soon his stomach would eat itself.  
 “So you didn’t have work today?” Eren asked. It confused him for a few moments until he realised that Eren was making the judgement off of his language.  
   
 “It’s been over two hours since I finished the day.” Levi twirled the pasta sloppily, eager to get it into his mouth. He half listened to Eren’s ramble about his personality and only offered a short answer of ‘Time’ before he stuffed the first forkful into his mouth.  
   
 It was acceptable pasta. Good pasta by his standard since he couldn’t actually make pasta. He glanced at Eren, still trying to piece together just what was shadowing the boy’s movements.  
 “So you got in the middle of a lover’s tiff and that’s why you had tea all over your table?” he asked. He still wasn’t sure if he had completely understood Hanji. She’d probably repeat it at him ten times on the way back. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be subjected to that.  
   
 He sighed as Eren almost choked and winced. He’d have to learn to watch for people eating at some point. It had never been a problem with him before.  
 “I’ll get you a glass of water, dipshit,” he commented before sliding off the chair. It was the least he could do after almost making him choke.  
 He hummed happily when he realised that Eren kept his kitchen both clean, and organised. There were a few signs of some sloppy cleaning, but, he reminded himself that Eren had spent the last week fairly injured. He would have to ask how he was doing at some point. Hanji would probably expect that much. He sighed again as he filled the glass with tap water. He had to get her nose out of his life at some point. Or at least convince his mother duck that she didn’t have to care for the chick now. He frowned, wondering why his brain had come up with that metaphor.  
   
 He set the glass in front of him, mentioning offhand about what Hanji had just told him. As well as a brief suggestion of locking them up together. It had worked with Hanji and Moblit. Sort of. Perhaps he should consider doing that again sometime soon. He raised an eyebrow at Eren’s suggestion and he shoved the glass into him. God, he hoped that no one would do that to him, to them. That would be messy.  
 “At least you keep your kitchen _organised_.” He commented. “No thankfully, but I think that Hanji and Petra are starting to contemplate it.” He twirled more spaghetti and shoved it into his mouth. Eren evidently hadn’t realised that the two were trying to set them up from his small smile. He took some small condolence about that.  
   
 “You’re avoiding them aren’t you? They’re talking about something and you’re hiding here,” Eren accused. Levi couldn’t stop a small laugh from escaping before he finished chewing.  
 “A bit, they also wanted me out.” He didn’t bother explaining why, but Eren couldn’t leave it alone.  
 “Fine,” he bit out. “They were worried. Armin’s worried,” he corrected himself. “Something about you being angry at him.” It clicked suddenly, the undertone to Eren’s posture. There was anger in him, perhaps Armin wasn’t being overly cautious.  
 “No,” Eren answered sharply. Levi raised his eyebrows and leaned forward.  
 “I mean, not at Armin,” Eren corrected before deflating. “Just… weekend shit. It’s stupid.”  
 Levi rolled his eyes. He could tell this was going to be like prying information out of Hanji. This was all going to be a pain in the ass later too.  
 “Eren, the stupidest shit I hear from Hanji can’t possibly beat out your stupid shit. Get it the fuck off your chest so you and your neighbour-friend can get all buddy again.”  
   
 That odd flutter started in his chest again when Eren gave him a sheepish smile and his body relaxed, losing most of its hardened edge.  
 “You have a weird way of getting people to loosen up.” Levi smirked at him and continued eating, glancing up at him expectantly.  
 “Fine.” Eren stabbed his bowl with a little more force than necessary. “During dessert.” Levi gave him a half shrug. He didn’t particularly mind, so long as he did talk to someone.  
   
 The silence grew more comfortable as the pasta diminished, and Levi enjoyed the sudden brightness at Eren’s face at the sight of the pie.  
 “Pumpkin?” Levi felt his stomach flop at the boyish look that crossed Eren’s face.  
 “Hanji’s bribe to get me down,” Levi chuckled. “I said I’d save her and Armin a slice though.” Eren cackled and Levi swore that the boy tripped as he went over to the kitchen to get a knife and plates in his eagerness.  
 “I can’t bake,” Eren admitted as he carefully cut the pie into several slices. “So pie or anything that’s more chemistry than timing is a treat.”  
   
 Levi stored that information somewhere, and cursed that he might want to invite Petra, Hanji or Erwin over again for dessert making.  
 “Usually it’s my sister, Mikasa, that makes dessert when we do something,” Eren continued while putting a slice carefully onto each plate.“She’s a bit overprotective, actually both she and Armin kinda are… I guess we all kinda help each other since we were little.”  
 Levi raised an eyebrow as Eren continued to ramble. If this continued for too long… No, fuck it if Hanji was going to make him dive he was going to do it on his terms.  
 “Eren. Moblit can bake, and I do believe you promised me something.” Eren trailed off, his eyes glazing slightly before a shining smile broke through.  
   
 “Right. I don’t know if I—”  
 “You should bring Armin, and meet your odd counterpart.” Levi smirked slightly. Eren reminded him of Hanji when she wanted to go out, but felt she shouldn’t.  
 “You can show me how to do groceries. Actual food groceries.” He rolled his eyes and took a small bite of the pie and smiled.  
 “You can’t do groceries?” Eren asked, befuddled.  
 “Not the right way supposedly,” Levi grumbled. “So I just stay to the frozen and pre-prepared shit.”  
   
 Eren ducked his head, Levi suspected to hide his smile.  
 “Don’t bother hiding, I know I’m fucking useless in the kitchen.”  
 “No!” Eren’s head shot up and Levi found himself leaning back, away from the sudden fervent look in Eren’s eyes.  
 “Cooking isn’t just doing things right or wrong! It’s patience, knowledge and experience” Levi drank in Eren’s green eyes, once again feeling like he was hiking through a mountain forest, with a view of the ocean just over the horizon.  
 “Even good people will have their fuck ups. People learning will fuck up even more. It’s continuing through those mistakes and learning from them that you get better!” A smile broke over Eren’s face and Levi couldn’t stop one from forming on his as well.  
 “I want to help you, even if it’s just watching over you so that you don’t have to worry about shit going wrong. But I want to see you comfortable in your own space even more and confident in yourself.” The tips of Eren’s ears went red as he sat back down and looked at a different corner of the room.  
 “Except that I have a shitton of work I’m behind on now.”  
   
 Levi laughed and brushed a finger across Eren’s cheek. He hadn’t heard such passion followed by a load of bullshit for a long time. “Groceries will only take a half hour to an hour and I’ll pay for yours for the week. You probably need food too. You can just show me how you pick shit and I can make Moblit come over. Do students still turn down free meals?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.  
 “Only if they’re stupid,” Eren muttered. Levi chuckled.  
   
 “I don’t remember when I last heard you laugh.” Levi closed his eyes as the familiar voice behind him.  
 “Maybe you just irritate him too much,” Eren suggested, a shy smile crossing his face.  
 “He wouldn’t have a life if it wasn’t for me!” Hanji declared dramatically. Levi let his head sink down the table lightly and groaned.  
 “Come on Levi! Chop, chop! We should go and get our shut eye for work!”  
 “You actually sleep?” he asked from the table.  
 “Nope! But you do!”  
   
 Levi could hear Armin laughing from behind her and he was pretty sure Eren was trying hard not to laugh.  
 He dragged himself up and held out his hand to Eren, extremely amused by his confused look.  
 “Your phone. For my number.” He could learn to love the red that crossed Eren’s face as the device dropped into his hand. It took a few moments for him to figure out the device before he finished and tossed the phone back at him.  
   
 “Use it,” he ordered before standing up. He felt a little guilty for leaving all the dirty plates, but Hanji was probably herding him for a reason, even if it wasn’t one he’d agree with.  
   
 He could hear the quiet chatting behind the door as she continued to shepherd him out.  
 “So. What the fuck?” he demanded.  
 He could feel her arm behind him stiffen and he glanced back to see her eyes tighten.  
 “It’s…” she sighed and deflated. “Okay, it’s a theory. I need you to know that. It also shouldn’t go any further.” Levi stopped short, glaring at her. “I just… I like these kids okay! They give me a turn, make me run for my money.”  
 “Fine,” he cut her off.  
   
 “Okay… So you know how Jean tried to set you up?”  
 “Yes.” He narrowed his eyes.  
 “Okay.” She took in a deep breath. Levi sighed, but let her wind up. If he didn’t he wasn’t going to get an answer.  
 “Jean thinks Eren and Armin have a thing for each other and Armin thinks that Jean and Eren have a thing for each other,” she blurted out in a rush.  
   
 Levi stared at her for a few moments, biting his tongue to hold his initial reply while his brain caught up.  
 “Say something Levi!”  
 “How are they all so fucking dense?” he groaned. Hanji just gave him a shrug as they continued to her car. He couldn’t stop one brief thought from crossing his mind.  
   
 Somehow one fucking hair cut had made his entire life into a soap opera.  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sad I didn't learn the love that is pumpkin pie until I was in university. Sorry this is running slower, I'm getting more impatient and wanting to shove the two together already so I've been writing other chapters/fics on the side. Next ones might be a bit!


	6. Why is shopping so hard?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grocery shopping and cooking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Levi sucked in another breath of frosty air as he drew up to his apartment. The chill would start chasing away most runners, but he only found it more invigorating. The burning in his lungs only drove him to push himself further. He counted out the steps, syncing them with his breathing as he climbed up to his apartment. It hadn’t been that bad of a run, but he still couldn’t wait for spring to arrive. The route by the river was particularly beautiful during the spring and summer months with its flourish of colour. Especially in the mornings when birds and squirrels offered a counterpoint to his music. He took in another deep breath to calm his heart further as he opened his door. Habit had him toeing off his shoes, not bothering to put them away just yet.  
   
 He took an easy stance in the middle of his living room. He closed his eyes to ground himself. He felt centered enough today that he shouldn’t need one of yoga DVDs he had. A few sun salutations and the first set of warrior pose flows should be fine. He took a few more breaths, emptying his mind of the chaos that had been plaguing it during his run. He would have control. This time was for him, and him alone. Attention to his body, attention to his limits. He noted that his shoulders were a little tenser than normal as he took a breath in and started the first salutation.  
   
 Arms to the air with the first breath in, then down to the floor with his exhale. His spine hung relaxed for a breath until he inhaled, flattening his back before sending his feet back to the beginnings of a push-up. He met the floor with the exhale and rose his torso up, then pushed up to an inverted ‘v’ with his next intake. A glance to the front and a little hop brought him back to the beginning.  
   
 The routine was a little more difficult than normal. He found stiffness in joints that were normally fine. He noted to work on those more later. He felt his body further loosen over time. It took him a few moments at the end to recenter himself and bring his mind back to the world, further from his self-awareness. He still had to talk to Hanji and Moblit about dinner plans. He had told them to keep tonight free, but hadn’t bothered to explain why. Hanji seemed to be oddly distracted as well. He would have to ask about that later, or ask Moblit if he knew what was going on.  
   
 He finally glanced at the time. She would probably be forced to take her first break soon. She was probably _actually_ working today as well. He sighed as dialed the extension easily and waiting for the distracted ‘Hanji Zoe here, how can I help you?’ He let a grin slip onto his face as he settled onto the couch, not daring to let his back touch the material. He still had to wash off all the sweat.  
 “Hey darling girl,” he mimicked her voice. “Can I interest you in a certain hot booty today?”  
 There was a long silence and he knew she was staring at the caller ID, figuring out who it was. He drew his phone out to a full arm’s length, waiting for her reaction.  
 “ _Levi you bastard!_ ”  
 Levi brought the phone back in to half the distance it was at.  
 “I don’t bother you this much on your days off!” she continued.  
 Levi raised an eyebrow at the phone and remained silent until she replied.  
 “Okay maybe a bit,” she admitted.  
 “It’s about time you take a break anyways,” he pointed out. “But, there are a few reasons for this call. I also thought that you might want to know the plan for tonight.”  
 “Oh yeah, dinner right? Did you have a specific place in mind?”  
 Levi laughed inwardly.  
   
 She evidently wasn’t entirely on her game, or they were really busy today. She’d been teasing him about Eren whenever she could.  
 “Yeah, but I’ll need to borrow your car later today,” he answered.  
 “Really?” she asked. He could hear the typing of her keyboard in the distance and frowned slightly. She continued talking quietly, but not to him.  
 “No, it’s just Levi checking in and stuff. Working? No, why?”  
 “Hanji listen to Moblit or Erwin or whoever the fuck is there and step away from the computer.” She sighed and he could hear the chair rolling away.  
 “There, are you both happy now? No typing, no work. Just talking and wasting my life away,” she rambled. He could identify Erwin’s rumble now, giving his usual lecture about work in moderation and how it was even more important now that she kept overworking herself at home.  
   
 “Speaking of overworking, you made sure that Moblit is free tonight as well right?”  
 “Yeah, yeah. So what’s your matchmaking plan this time?” Levi let a smirk drift across his face.  
 “Eren and Armin are coming over.” He could hear the gears clicking in her brain and continued while she processed the first sentence. “I thought that Eren might like to meet Moblit and vice versa. They seem like they’d get along well and you seemed to get along fairly well with Armin.”  
 “You… You little bitch,” she hissed. “You… you’re a devil.”  
 “Let’s just call it payback shall we?” He chuckled. “You and Erwin have wormed me into plenty of things.”  
 “Well! That was always when you were just being a stubborn shit!”  
 “You’re saying you aren’t being one about Moblit?” he asked casually. He could hear her shift in her seat.  
   
 “That’s… different.”  
 “Not by much, but can I borrow the car so we can do groceries?” he asked. She sighed and he could hear her wheeling back and forth. She was trying not to go back to work. He smiled at the effort as she hummed into the phone.  
 “What time?” she asked.  
 “What, are you going out for lunch? If so some fucking time in the afternoon will work. Eren has some practice or other until two or something anyways. I figured he could stop me from getting the rotten crap that you were on about.”  
 “Oh, that’s good!” He was glad to hear her voice finally lighten, her focus going into the call.  
   
 “Right so this is your time if you have anything particular you want,” he commented. He heard her hum into the phone thinking, before the phone became oddly muffled. He pulled his phone away from his ear, frowning at it and wondering why it would have gotten so quiet all of a sudden.  
 “Levi?” His back straightened. That wasn’t Hanji. “I’m dragging her out for lunch right now if that’s alright. She’ll leave the keys with Erwin. We’ll be there around six or so?”  
 “Moblit. Well at least someone will make sure she eats regularly then. You’ll have fun tonight.”  
 “So I’ve heard, but I’m not entirely sure who to believe about that.”  
 Levi snorted. He had probably heard stories from Hanji and Petra… no, Petra wasn’t working today, but he couldn’t have heard that much from Erwin.  
 “I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think,” Levi replied  
 “Oh good then I don’t need my fire extinguisher.” Moblit laughed. Levi rolled his eyes, he knew he was joking and never quite agreed with Hanji’s methods.  
   
 “If you do it won’t necessarily be my fault.”  
 “I look forward to it. Let us know if the timing—No Hanji, you can’t have the phone back. Levi I—”  
 “Go,” Levi interrupted. “Make her be a normal person for a bit. Somehow she doesn’t mind it as much if it’s you.” A smile worked its way onto his face. He heard something that sounded vaguely like ‘first I heard of it’ before the phone clicked off. He hoped that Hanji wouldn’t give Moblit too much trouble. Actually maybe he should worry about the reverse since she kept avoiding his questions about their relationship the last time they talked.  
   
 He wondered why they were leaving her keys with Erwin though. It wasn’t anywhere close to the time he had to leave, so why couldn’t she keep them on her. He stared into space before he gave up and texted Erwin looking for his insights into the oddity.  
   
 He snorted at the reply; taking away her keys would definitely hamper Hanji’s ability to run away from Moblit. She was easy to spot even if she was fast. Moblit had more stamina than her and could at least catch up. Then again, he wouldn’t be too surprised if she learnt how to hotwire a car just in case that might happen. He snorted at the thought. Perhaps it was a good thing he didn’t own a car after all.  
   
 He glanced at the clock and sighed. He had over an hour to kill. There wasn’t all that much that he could do in that time. His hands bumped into his glasses as he dropped his head into his hands. Well that was one thing he could do now, at least. He should switch to his contacts before leaving, and perhaps put together a short grocery list of things he might like to keep in the fridge.  
   
 The list took him a lot longer than he thought it would, mostly because he couldn’t remember half the shit that Eren had actually taught him. Plus, he wasn’t sure what he would even usually eat other than the shitty pre-packaged dinners. Now that he was learning, he was looking forward to getting rid of those shitty things.  
   
 In the end he decided to arrive a little bit early. Worst case, he could just scare a bunch of students by standing outside the dorm and glowering at all of them. He almost had to swindle the keys away from Erwin with the vague promise he could _eventually_ come over for dinner. With some stipulation that the older male stopped being such a workaholic of course. He wasn’t quite ready to share the time he had with Eren with Erwin, but for some reason he didn’t mind Hanji as much. Perhaps it was because her conniving was far more obvious than Erwin’s.  
   
 He parked close to the dorm, not particularly caring about paying for the stupid fees. It wasn’t like he was planning to be here for a long duration so it didn’t even matter.  
 He came to the front doors of Smith, only to almost get smacked in the face by the door.  
 “OH! Levi right? Hold on I’ll let you in quickly. Shit I’m so late.” The last bit was barely a mumble before the tuft of blond hair darted off again. He hadn’t thought that any student could run quite that fast and look so… willowy. He shrugged though and slowly walked through the hall, only making a wrong turn once.  
   
 Then he wasn’t sure if it had been a good or bad thing he came early. Eren was right in front of him, laughing. He barely perceived the sound; instead he was focused on what Eren was wearing. Or rather, what he wasn’t wearing.  
   
 Eren had struck him as someone that stayed fit, someone that would take any game far too seriously. He had nailed that. He let his eyes trail slowly up the slightly defined muscles to his far too bright eyes. The red offset them nicely, not in a Christmasy way like most greens and reds did though. He couldn’t be bothered to figure out exactly what it reminded him of as the water dripped from the short hair ends.  
   
 “Tell me you aren’t going out like that,” he said dryly. He bit his tongue to try and encourage more saliva in his mouth. God he wasn’t drooling over the kid just because he didn’t have a _shirt_ was he? He had seen Erwin shirtless and he didn’t feel magnetised to him like this.  
   
 Eren’s stammer was even cuter, oddly enough. He smirked as Eren began to calm down and ramble on about choosing recipes. Levi wasn’t really sure how to tell a good and a bad recipe apart. He blinked for a moment and held back a laugh as Eren asked how he got in. When Hanji was in school he would regularly sneak in after hours to make sure she was sleeping and eating properly. First floor windows were even easier to sneak into, but there wasn’t any reason for him to be too specific and freak him out.  
 “It’s a dorm,” he explained. “It’s hardly secure. If it worries you too much though, I ran into your friend on his way out.” Eren’s brow furrowed, but Levi couldn’t remember the guy’s name for the life of him. For all he knew Eren had a shitton of blond friends, and more than one of them could be his neighbour.  
   
 “Oh, Armin,” Eren stated. “Right he does have a class soon.” Levi did smile as Eren fumbled his keys while getting the door open. He glanced up at the number, willing it to stay in his brain this time. One hundred and four. He paused before crossing the threshold. For some reason that number was familiar to him.  
 “I’ll just get changed quickly,” Eren commented, quickly typing his password into his computer.  
   
 Levi nodded and glanced at the screen. It seemed like there was four different recipes in different tabs. The browser seemed odd to him though, and the touchpad took him a while to get used to. He had browsed through all of the chicken parmesan recipe and was trying to switch to another tab to see the other recipe when Eren’s voice over his shoulder made him jump.  
 “You can just hit control and page up or page down to browse tabs faster.”  
   
 He scowled at Eren’s smile before glancing down at the keyboard and carefully hit the two keys and flinched slightly as the tab changed.  
 “Didn’t like the chicken?” Eren asked.  
 “I thought I’d look at everything else first,” Levi grumbled. His body was heating up from Eren’s proximity for some unknown reason. It was probably heat from the shower, or perhaps it was just Eren’s own body heat.  
 “Are you actually going out like that?” Levi asked, finally noticing that Eren was only wearing a long sleeve shirt. He seemed a little confused by the question before nodding.  
 “I don’t get cold too easily.”  
   
 Levi raised his eyebrows until he remembered how Eren came to salon once in shorts.  
 “Right, no complaining if you do get cold then though.”  
 “I’ll just steal Armin’s sweater then,” he grinned. Levi paused for a moment over one recipe, noting that it had peppers in it. He felt rather diabolical for a moment, especially if Moblit was going to be coming with Hanji. He glanced back at Eren and gestured him forward.  
   
 “Stir-fry?” Eren tilted his head slightly, a faraway cast to his eyes. Levi wondered what he was thinking about before Eren tugged him up and closed the lid.  
 “Aren’t—?”  
 “I’ve made it a fair bit. Do you mind a bit of a walk first before we go?” Eren asked. He paused and slapped a hand to his forehead.  
 “I’m an idiot sometimes. Did you keep all the raw food from the last time?”  
 “What else was I going to do with it?” Levi retorted.  
 “I dunno. I wasn’t sure if you were going to just throw it all out.” Levi stared at him hard for a few minutes, enough that Eren began to squirm.  
   
 “That would be a waste of good food,” Levi stated quietly. “Plus I knew we would be working together again.”  
 “Okay, so we just need the meat and vegetables then. Do you like Asian cooking?”  
   
 Levi pondered the question for a little bit, he appreciated any good cooking, but he wasn’t entirely certain how he felt about specific types of cuisine.  
 “I’m not sure.”  
 “Okay, one minute then.” Eren dug around his, from what Levi could see, mostly bare fridge and came out holding a bottle.  
 “Oyster sauce,” Eren explained as if it meant anything to Levi. He shrugged and nodded.  
 “Ready to go then?” He enjoyed watching Eren think for a few moments as he patted various pockets, probably going through his own checklist of items.  
   
 “Keys and pass?” Levi asked. For some reason Hanji had her own checklist and those two items were never on them and inevitably would run back or have to crash at his place until the morning. Back when she was in school of course.  
 “Yeah, why?” Eren tilted his head to the side.  
 “Because Hanji’s a dipshit,” he explained. Eren’s mouth dropped open in an ‘o’ of understanding before smiling and following Levi out the door. He waited a few seconds for Eren to lock his door before continuing down to the entrance.  
   
 “You know your way around pretty well,” Eren commented. Levi turned and walked backwards for a bit to observe the boy.  
 “Hanji used to live here. I would check in on her when Moblit was overwhelmed with his own work.”  
 “But how—no, nevermind. I want to be able to sleep at night,” Eren mumbled. Levi laughed, but respected Eren’s desire.  
 “Then it’s a good thing you won’t be locking yourself out.”  
 “You’re saying you’d break in for me?” Eren teased.  
 Levi shrugged. The only other option would be Eren staying over at his or Hanji’s place. Given that she lived a fair distance away, and was up at insane hours it would probably end up being at his place. Then he would have to deal with her incessant teasing and innuendos for the next week, something he would do anything to avoid.  
   
 He voiced the first part at least to Eren, sending the younger into a thoughtful state as he walked to the car.  
   
 “Wait, isn’t this?” Eren asked. Levi twirled the keys around his finger with a smirk.  
 “Courtesy of Hanji. Sometimes she practically forces me to drive, probably just because she’s too lazy to actually clean the shitty thing by herself.”  
   
 At least she had cleaned it before driving him to the eye clinic. Hell she had probably cleaned it _because_ she was going to be driving him to the eye clinic. It hadn’t been quite long enough for it to accumulate the normal crap it did. Although since Moblit was in town it was probably more because of him than because Hanji was actually making an effort to keep the shitty thing clean. He made a note in his mind to thank the man later tonight. Maybe with a really nice bottle of wine.  
 “I’m glad she cleaned it before then,” Eren commented.  
 Levi was confused for a few moments before remembering that Hanji had driven him back a few weeks ago. He snorted in amusement that Eren would bring that up just as he was thinking about it. He explained that fact to Eren, barely noticing his wince as he started up the car.  
 “So you prefer contacts?” Eren asked.  
 Levi shot him a quick glance and explained while he finished adjusting all the mirrors. It would drive Hanji nuts if he didn’t put them back, but he wasn’t used to driving to the grocery store so she could live with it.  
   
 He was almost done when he asked the same question back at Eren. He had seen the boy with both glasses and contacts, but it almost seemed like he couldn’t quite make up his mind which he preferred during the day. He meant to pull out while he explained, but the crinkling of Eren’s nose was just too amusing.  
 “Well, I have a horrible habit of sleeping with my glasses on,” Eren admitted sheepishly. “So I switch to contacts if my nose and ears hurt too much or something. Oh! I also wear the contacts for hockey practice! It’s much easier to put the helmet on when I’m wearing them compared to glasses. Plus I don’t have to really worry about them breaking. Especially when practice gets really gruelling like it did today.” Levi started to tune him out as Eren talked about hockey. He wasn’t particularly interested in the sport. Although watching Eren play might be interesting, except that he didn’t know all the rules and only knew the general gist of everything.  
   
 “Do you know Nile Dawke?” Eren asked suddenly. That one question brought his attention was back full force and he glared at Eren, warning him away from the topic. He didn’t like thinking about the man and they were only just barely civil at any reunion events and the passing by the street. Eren seemed to realise at least part of it and dropped the topic. Levi pulled out just before he switched to asking about Levi’s own sport. Levi half expected him to keep talking while he was driving. It had been a while since he had driven and even longer since he had been to this particular grocery store. Most of his attention was focused on what he was doing, and what all the assholes around him were doing.  
   
 It wasn’t until he shifted the car into park he felt safe enough to actually answer the question.  
 “Snowboarding,” he replied. He could see the gears in Eren’s brain going.  
 “I have the balance of cicada,” Eren replied. He failed to see the connection and his question fell before he could filter the wording. He _knew_ what a cicada was, but he failed to see the relation between snowboarding and a fucking insect that was only an adult for a day. It made sense when Eren commented about them falling off branches though, but it lacked consistency.  
 “If you have no fucking balance how the shit can you skate?” he pointed out. For that matter if he had zero balance he was pretty sure he would have tripped three times already.There were a few moments of silence while Eren realised that.  
 “It’s a different type of balance?” he offered.  
   
 He scowled and dropped the topic, only muttering that maybe they could work on that. Plus they had been standing in the door arguing about fucking cicadas for too long and he didn’t want to stay here longer than necessary.  
 “So where do we start?” He had to hold his tongue to stop the swear words from just flowing out. He could see the kids here.  
   
 His lips twitched slightly as Eren suggested that they get a cart for everything, as if that part wasn’t obvious enough. All he really got was they’d be going up and down the aisles and Eren’s usual mannerisms for shopping didn’t matter. When he asked him about what kind of fruit he usually bought he actually had to think. He didn’t actually eat much fruit since a lot of the frozen stuff was crap and the canned ones even more so. He shrugged while he thought about it. It took him a while to remember some of the fruits that Hanji had brought over as well, but he never really asked what they were when he was trying them. Actually, it was probably better that he didn’t as well.  
   
 “Blackberries,” he finally answered. The small berries were the only ones that were actually okay. He voiced so much to Eren and added the blueberries and mangoes, which he occasionally made into smoothies in the summer. There were a few more moments of silence between them and Levi began to think it might just be better to follow Eren and see how he picked his own fruit and see if he liked those as well.  
 “Why don’t you just get what you normally do and I’ll try some if it? If I don’t like it you can take it all home” he suggested.  
   
 Eren’s laughter caught him off guard. He had no idea what he said that was so funny, until Eren spoke.  
 “I was thinking we might be able to make a fruit salad tonight. Then you’d be able to try a bunch of fruits at once.” Levi’s nose crinkled at the initial thought of so many different things together, but it was a dish that showed up as well and he did trust Eren. In the end, perhaps a mixture of both of their plans would be the best thing.  
   
 “We’ll get a few extra for the fruits then and if I like them I’ll keep them, if not you get to take them home.” He didn’t expect Eren to grab a bag at the apples and just look at him expectantly. He hesitated before picking up an apple and turning it around carefully and offering it to Eren. He double checked it before putting it into the bag and suddenly Levi understood and smiled slightly. It was the type of thing Hanji would notice, but Eren didn’t know him well enough yet to see it.  
   
 The few times that Eren did put them back, he showed Levi why he was putting it back and would point out one for him to try so he could feel it the first time himself. As a result they went through the fruits fairly quickly. Levi lost the argument about pineapple though. The thing freaked him out a little bit and he would have rather gotten the pre-prepared one, but Eren insisted on the whole one.  
   
 Vegetables were more difficult. Eren seemed to be tossing in many things that Levi just continued by. He wouldn’t mind, except Eren would show him what he would look for in the weirdest looking vegetables. They looked like flat trees to him. Flat albino trees, labelled ‘bok choy’ or whatever. He doubted that he would have any particular desire to actually _try_ the things. Eren had made a strange whining sound as well when he picked up zucchini so that he couldn’t help rolling his eyes and just adding twice as many into the cart.  
   
 Then they finally made their way over to the deli and meats. They mostly glanced over the deli meats, neither of them feeling too inclined for cold cuts or cheeses for this particular trip.  
 “For meat you want to get it at the butcher if you can,” Eren suggested, pulling Levi and the cart back from the open refrigerated areas. “It’s generally fresher.”  
 “The crap there is more expensive though,” Levi argued. Eren snorted and replied back that it was only if he got the pre-prepared stuff, but the actual cuts were better and he could get specific portions and cuts.  
   
 They looked over some of the meats there, but didn’t actually get any. Eren said they didn’t have the cut he really wanted, but that it was hard to find except at specialty stores. Levi wasn’t sure he really wanted to know, but Eren seemed to realise that and only laughed and mentioned that he was looking for goat, but he already had a place he bought it from regularly.  
   
 Levi shrugged slightly. Goat made some sense. Or at least more sense than some of the other meats he had heard of. A shiver crawled up his spine thinking about alligator and buffalo. He didn’t want to know. Or at least at this current time he definitely didn’t want to know.  
   
 The rest of the shopping was mostly going up and down the aisles. By the time they reached the soups Levi felt it was safe to ask about Eren’s hand. It still had a light bandage on it so he couldn’t really see the extent of the damage.  
 “Oh, it’s gotten a lot better lately. It was really touchy the day you visited, but that was mostly my fault.” Eren flexed his hand slowly, his face barely changing expression.  
 “Hopefully I’ll be able to write normally soon.” Levi raised an eyebrow. “How did you burn your dominant hand?”  
   
 Eren smiled sheepishly while piling in several canned soups were on sale. Levi added to the pile and grimaced when Eren grabbed three packages of instant noodles.  
 “Hey, these ones are good if you cook them with the ‘flat trees’ as you call them and some barbecue pork. They’re good for an emergency lunch,” he protested.  
 “I’ll trust you on that,” Levi replied flatly.  
 “Anyways my dominant hand shifts for fine motor and for other stuff so I play, pour and smack people with my left, but my right is all the lab work and writing and stuff. I can’t shift the two though it feels strange.”  
   
 It made a little bit of sense to Levi; he had heard that some people shifted dominant hands between different sets of tasks. Hanji probably knew a lot more about that topic than he did. Maybe he would ask her later, if Eren pissed him off at some point.  
   
 Eren pointed out a few good frozen pizzas in the frozen food aisles that were cheaper than the shit that he usually bought. Supposedly they were better and he guessed that his dubious look had Eren acting all defensive. As a result he added one frozen pizza to the cart, which he hoped that he would never have to actually make again. He added a mental note to get Eren to show him how to make pizza at some point. Perhaps they could have a large potluck again with a few different pizzas. Except that might be a better plan if they were at Hanji’s, who somehow obtained _two_ ovens and a good barbecue. Everyone would be ecstatic about him actually thinking about planning a large party.  
   
 There must have been a small smile on his face, which faded at the checkout counter when he had to shove Eren away from the conveyor belt when he was about to place the divider down.  
 “Consider it your payment for teaching me,” he growled as Eren protested. He slunk to the end of the counter at that and Levi had to suffer the awkward smile of the cashier instead as she scanned everything.  
 “Do you need bags?” she asked. Levi nodded and glanced over as Eren muttered something angrily under his breath.  
   
 “Don’t be so uptight or you’ll get constipated,” Levi commented. The cashier and Eren both blushed and he rolled his eyes at the both. His humour was just _fine_ thank you very much.  
 “I just forgot to bring bags,” Eren muttered, turning away to hide his face. Levi snorted and just shoved the bags towards him.  
 “If you’re feeling fucking guilty about it then you can carry the bags out,” Levi offered. Eren hesitated for a moment before he smiled while grabbing a few of the bags in one hand and holding his other out.  
   
 Levi rolled his eyes while placing the other bags on Eren’s hand before finishing the payment and just giving the cashier a small wave. The ride back and unpacking went fairly quietly, given that half of the ingredients were staying out for dinner and a quarter went into the freezer. The rest was all of Eren’s food that just got shoved into the fridge for the time being.  
   
 “The asshole plus restainer won’t be here for another two hours or so.” Levi tilted his head slightly to the side. “Movie alright with you to pass the time?” The recipe took more time to prep than to cook, as far as he could recall.  
   
 Eren seemed to be doing mental calculations with the worst puzzled face ever.  
 “Oi, stop looking constipated over this crap. We have enough time for a movie and Hanji will gripe if she isn’t allowed to help. So your choices are a movie or find some other thing you’d like to do in the meanwhile. She won’t be here until four.”  
   
 Eren’s shoulders slumped and Levi couldn’t resist throwing the roll of paper towels at him. It was his usual go to for smacking Hanji, especially since she needed them half the time.  
 “Is there something wrong with my company?” he demanded. Eren seemed to dissolve into a massive red puddle on his floor mumbling some nonsense or other.  
   
 “Fuck you then,” Levi replied, stepping over him easily. “I’m putting on Princess Bride.”  
 “Inconceivable!”  
 Levi let a smile slip out at that, two hours should go by quickly enough.  
   
   


* * *

   
  “No, I’m not kidding you, the book helps make sense of the movie!” Eren argued. Levi rolled his eyes.  
 “Oh, so you’re telling me you managed to get all the backstory stuff down?” He crossed his arms. Levi snorted at the thought.  
 “Backstory means shit all.”  
 “What about true love?” Eren demanded. Levi glanced over at him, lost in the fire that was beginning to burn in his eyes.  
 “A story,” he murmured. His chest did an odd flop again as he glanced over to watch the credits rolling. “A fairy tale, they tell us to hope for a better world that the shitstain we live in.”  
   
 He could feel Eren’s back hit the couch in a soft thwump.  
 “It has some nice things in it too,” he argued. Levi rolled his eyes and turned to look at him again.  
 “I never said there wasn’t. People just don’t tend to be one of the better things in the world.”  
 “Wow, thanks.”  
 Levi pondered his next action for a brief moment. Hanji would be proud he even thought about his actions.  
 He grabbed a handful of Eren’s hair and brought his face down to his level, fixing him with a steady glare.  
 “If you weren’t one of the better ones, you wouldn’t be here.”  
   
 Eren’s face turned bright red and all the fire seemed to dissipate into nerves. He was trying to draw his shirt down for some—oh. Levi glanced down and let go of Eren. He wasn’t sure how he had forgotten about that. He could feel his own cheeks heat up, at just the wrong moment.  
 “TADA! I bet you missed us!” Hanji pranced in behind Moblit.  
 “Hanji,” Levi growled. She had already broken her promise, or so he thought until Moblit held up the key, a resigned look on his face.  
 “You don’t want to know what she was planning,” he explained.  
 “Are you both   
i>blushing?” Hanji exclaimed, peering closely at the two. Levi moved fast. Eren would be fine with Moblit, but Hanji would be far too irritating about all of it.  
   
 “How about you tell me if we picked up enough shit.”  
 “But Levi, we brought baking stuff,” Hanji complained.  
 “Shut the fuck up. I want to use my kitchen again,” he growled. There was an odd silence, he could barely hear the murmuring in the living room that suggested Moblit was introducing himself. He turned to look at Hanji and felt his eyes get wide. She was biting her lip and looking at the floor, hands behind her back. He bet that she was twiddling her thumbs like she did whenever she got nervous.  
 “Hanji I’m going to toss you out of the window if you’re going to ask me out,” he deadpanned. If that wouldn’t snap her out he didn’t know what would.  
   
 It did the trick because the most inhumane shriek came out of her throat and it was moments later that he found himself staring into that weird ass forest again, hands prying against his wrists. No sound came from Eren’s lips though, and it took him a few moments to realise that the entire reason he couldn’t hear anything was that his hands were covering his ears. He slowly released them, and could only half hear Moblit berating Hanji in the other room now.  
   
 “What did you say?” Eren asked. He was far too amused for Levi’s liking.  
 “Something that would never happen.” The words rang oddly in his ears, so he rubbed at them, trying to get his hearing back.  
 “Fuck, I’m never doing that again. Has someone talked to the neighbours?”  
 Moblit’s voice rang oddly and he had to turn to make sure it was him he was hearing.  
 “We’re going to go deal with that right now. _Aren’t_ we Hanji?” he asked. Asked might have been too meek of a word since he was already guiding her out the door.  
   
 He rubbed at his ears, stopping only when Eren knocked his hands away and was pressing oddly around his jaw. Then the ringing stopped. He touched an ear hesitantly.  
 “What did—?”  
 “Little trick I learnt.” Eren gave him a wry smile. “Lots of fights when I was little and dad’s a doctor. What the hell did you ask?” Levi leaned back against the counter. When did he sit down on the floor?  
 “She wanted to ask something and I was too snarky.”  
 “That’s possible?” Eren asked sarcastically.  
 “Evidently. I said I was going to toss her out the window if she was going to ask me out.”  
   
 Eren dissolved into laughter on the floor. Infectious laughter, which was precisely how Hanji and Moblit found them a few minutes later. Laughing their asses off on the floor.  
 “Well, that is a change,” Moblit commented, his hand lightly resting on Hanji’s shoulders. Hanji seemed to be forcing herself to be silent for once.  
 “So’s that,” Levi breathing, tilting his head up to look at Hanji. “What the fuck?” Hanji squirmed again, stilling only when Moblit rubbed her shoulder.  
 “Can we just work on dinner and dessert?” she mumbled. Eren brightened at the sound of dessert.  
   
 “Can I help?” He looked around eagerly, prompting a laugh from both Hanji and Moblit.  
 “How about you help out Levi and I’ll call you over for the dessert. Hanji can go make a mess in Levi’s living room,” Moblit suggested. Hanji opened her mouth in protest, only for it to get covered.  
 “He’ll work better without you hovering, Trouble.” Hanji grumbled slightly before ducking out from Moblit’s arm.  
 “Fine, Double. I’ll _clean_ and set the table. Don’t you three cause any trouble!” She dashed off, Levi swearing he saw relief flowing over her face.  
   
 “I’m sorry for Hanji, Eren,” Moblit said quietly. Levi’s heart flip-flopped at how Eren tilted his head just barely to the side.  
 “Why?” he asked. Levi stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was actually serious. Moblit seemed to be wondering the same thing, but seemed far more critical of Eren.  
 “I mean, I get that she’s kinda strange and all but… I dunno, I feel like anyone that helps out Armin is good in my books.” He scowled and Levi _almost_ scolded him for scuffing at his floor. Except he was in socks so there weren’t any marks.  
 “Armin?” Moblit asked. Eren smiled weakly.  
 “My best friend that lives across the hall. He alternates between needing my help and hating my guts.”  
 “Oh,” Moblit’s voice softened. “The one with the crush?”  
   
 Levi wasn’t sure just _why_ Eren’s eyes seemed so alive and aflame at that moment.  
 “Does everyone know about that?” he asked. Levi opened his mouth, prepared to argue until Moblit shot him a warning glance smiled at Eren.  
 “Eren, I can’t stop Hanji unless I know _why_ something’s so important to her.”  
 “She’s getting freaked out she’s getting close to you all,” Levi added. Moblit and Eren looked at him as if he grew a second head.  
 “What? I can have civil conversations with the monster under my bed sometimes. It’s better than infomercials or _soap operas_.” That got the laugh that he had been trying for. He rolled his eyes and glanced at the stove.  
   
 “We should get started.” Levi resisted the urge to fidget. He would have just started, except that he wasn’t really sure where to start.  
 “You’re right,” Eren admitted. He got that faraway glance in his eyes again and Levi wondered what he was thinking of this time. He glanced at Moblit, expecting a question and instead just saw the man waiting.  
 “Have you sharpened your knives?” Eren asked.  
 Levi smiled slightly.  
 “That is one thing I can do well. They’re sharp.” Eren seemed startled by that fact and just stared at him for a while.  
 “I don’t use them frequently, so I don’t know when they get dull,” Levi offered after a few tense moments. “Plus I can’t really feel it like you did.” He frowned slightly. “How did you feel it?”  
   
 Eren laughed and he swore he saw a small smile on Moblit’s face.  
 “It feels different,” Moblit offered. “You’ll probably see that in a bit. What are we making?”  
 “Stir-fry,” Eren and Levi answered.  
 “Oh good, that’ll work,” Moblit nodded. “I brought ingredients for an apple crisp.”  
 “You’re kidding me,” Eren breathed. Levi raised an eyebrow and took half a step back.  
 “Is there any baked dessert you don’t like?” he asked. Eren seemed to give the question some serious thought.  
 “Lemon meringue pie? But it’s more the lemon custard I don’t really like…”  
   
 Levi stared at him, waiting for a list to follow.  
 “… That’s it?” Moblit asked, just as startled. Eren looked between the two of them.  
 “It’s all that you don’t like?” Levi clarified. Eren gave a half smile and shrug.  
 “Well I haven’t really tried that much… Mikasa only really knows…” Eren took a deep breath and shook slightly. “What mom taught her. I was pretty much hopeless,” he gave a short laugh and nudged Levi slightly. “I guess we’re kinda similar in that aspect.”  
   
 Levi snorted and shoved him back, causing him to stumble towards the other.  
 “Tell me what to chop and take a lesson from Moblit,” he ordered. The two of them started laughing and he found himself rolling his eyes while leaning on the counter, waiting for them to stop.  
   
 He wasn’t even sure _why_ they were laughing so hard.  
 “Ginger’s the best one to start with, then the broccoli. Meats are last and then you don’t have to wash your cutting board halfway, though you’ll have more bowls as a result. Bite sized, and for the meats you cut against the grain in thin slices,” Eren explained. “Just don’t hurt yourself, there are enough of us hurt already.” He grinned and wiggled his hand at Levi. Levi couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him and kicked him lightly before digging in the fridge. Ginger, broccoli, the chicken breast and… flank steak if he recalled correctly. Eren had nixed the red pepper the recipe suggested. All he had said was to trust him, although Levi still bought the pepper. Fuck Eren, he liked to snack on them at the very least. He could save them to torture Hanji at a later date too.  
   
 He found his rhythm for chopping quickly enough and he could hear Eren and Moblit fussing around the kitchen. There was quite the difference in cutting now. It was much smoother and he didn’t feel like the vegetables were fighting back as much. They were right about that much, he would be able to feel the difference now when the knives were getting dull.  
   
 He didn’t jump as much this time when Eren’s arms wrapped around his forearms, guiding the slices for the flank steak.  
 “Try to keep them as thin as possible,” he murmured. Levi _almost_ blushed from his proximity before Eren backed away, watching his movements closely. He could feel his eyes burning through his back and glowered at Moblit as he heard the snickers behind him.  
   
 “Having fun?” he asked. Moblit smiled slightly as he turned around.  
 “Yes. I’m enjoying not chasing around eccentric children.”  
 “What?” Eren asked.  
 “Moblit works at one of the science museums that have child programs,” Levi explained. Eren’s mouth opened slightly.  
 “Is that why he’s able to deal with Hanji?” Eren asked. Levi laughed, but Moblit’s smile became strained.  
   
 “Did I just hear the devil laugh again?” Hanji poked her head around the doorframe. “That’s becoming a disturbing reoccurrence.”  
 “The hard-ass did indeed laugh,” Moblit replied, a small smile drifting onto his face. Eren looked somewhat offended and set himself.  
 “What’s the big deal!” he demanded. Moblit rested a hand lightly on Eren’s shoulder, waiting for the tension to release before answering.  
   
 “You haven’t seen too much of Levi, Eren. He doesn’t really open up to people quickly.” Moblit smiled. “Especially certain people that cross every boundary known.”  
 Hanji flopped onto the floor and crossed her arms.  
 “How else would I get our resident grump to open up unless _I’m_ the super annoying one?” she complained.  
 “You’re kidding right?” Eren asked, looking between the two of them.  
   
 Levi sighed; he knew that would come up at some point. Frankly, he was surprised that Hanji hadn’t brought it up sooner.  
 “She isn’t. Hanji’s half the reason I even have a social life,” he grumbled. Eren grew silent. Levi glanced up, trying to read his eyes for what he was thinking. Hanji seemed to respect his desire for silence and remained a blockade in the kitchen doorway.  
   
 “I didn’t realise,” Eren murmured. Levi shrugged and threw on a smirk.  
 “If you didn’t gather that from the first time you met me I don’t know if you ever would.”  
 “Wait, what?” Moblit asked, his hand falling from Eren’s shoulder. Hanji laughed and went on to explain Eren’s hair appointment, with him interjecting certain points.  
   
 Levi stopped paying attention and just finished cutting up all of his items before aiming a well-placed kick to Eren’s ankle.  
 “Oi, _Teacher_. What now?” Eren smiled and moved around the kitchen, explaining the glory of a wok and heaping joy onto Hanji, the devil, for having brought one into the kitchen. The wok was set to heat as he beckoned Levi to the sink.  
   
 “I did the first rinse already,” he explained. “But I thought you might like to practice as well.”  
 Levi shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.  
 “Last thing Levi burnt in here was a pot of rice Eren!” Hanji called from the doorway, careful to not actually step foot in the kitchen.  
 “Then it’s a good thing I’m here,” Eren cajoled. Levi glanced up into his eyes and took a breath to steady himself.  
   
 Rinsing the rice was second nature to him. It fell under ‘cleaning’ and he’d often have it soaking beforehand. Eren added a touch more water to the pot before almost _skipping_ to the stove and putting it on high.  
 “The trick I learnt for rice in a pot is if you aren’t sure if it’s too much water, you just boil it until it’s at the top of the rice and then cover it,” he advised.  
   
 Levi frowned, uncertain that he’d even remember that. He half heard Eren explain that it was usually best to start the rice first, and then it might be done by the end of the meal. There was something about a rate determining step, but he didn’t pay particular attention to it.  
 “ _Levi_.” He turned this head to see Eren pouting at him. “Are you even paying attention?”  
   
 Levi gave a half shrug. In all honesty this was just making him more tempted to buy a rice cooker so that he wouldn’t have to deal with it.  
 “How would it change if it was a rice cooker?” he asked, interrupting Eren’s tirade. Eren mumbled something under his breath and turned over towards Moblit. Levi shot out and grabbed his arm.  
 “What?” he growled, eyes narrowing. They widened slightly when Eren turned and his face had a pinkish hue.  
 “I… never learned how to use a rice cooker,” he repeated quietly.  
 “ _Oh! Levi are you thinking of getting one!?_ ” Hanji shrieked. Levi closed his eyes for a moment and counted to ten. There was a sizzle in the wok by the time he opened his eyes.  
   
 Eren glanced at him just as he opened his eyes, offering a small smile. Levi stepped forward to see that he had only put the ginger in the wok.  
 “We infuse the oil first,” Eren explained. “Then we brown the meats and set them aside. Then it’s the vegetables in order of the longest to cook down. Meats added in last. Then it’s just the oyster sauce, cover and simmer.”  
   
 He could feel Eren’s eyes on him as he stirred the ginger around, wondering how long it took to flavour the oil. He figured it was enough time when the smell almost smacked him in the face. Brown the meat Eren had said. It was rather convenient that they had separated the bowls. Actually that had probably been planned on Eren’s part. He tensed as Eren burst out laughing. A quick glance showed that Eren was looking outside the kitchen, but he couldn’t see what.  
 “Look? What look Eren?” Hanji’s voice filtered in.  
   
 “What the fuck are you talking about?” he bit out. He dared a glance towards the corner, but wasn’t quite able to see out the door. He drew his attention back to the wok, just in time to stop the meat from overcooking. He lost Eren’s answer as he dumped in the next batch of whatever looked hardest. Those took longer to cook right?  
 “That would be Hanji,” Moblit sighed. “As childish as can be.” Well that meant that he didn’t miss anything critical then.  
 “ _Childish?_ ” Hanji screeched. “ _Me?_ ”  
 “I don’t know who else would fit that description more,” Moblit replied calmly. Levi would bet that there was a large smile on both of their faces right now, but he couldn’t turn around to check just now. How could he even tell when these things were done?  
 “How am I more childish than those kids you work with?” Hanji demanded.  
 “They have more respect for the exhibits than you, don’t deny it. You crawled all over those skeletons.”  
 “They’re replicas. I didn’t hurt anything!”  
   
 Levi rolled his eyes and glanced at Eren. “How long until Armin gets here?”  
 Eren shrugged and took a look at his phone. Levi just wanted someone else here so Hanji would shut up and maybe harass someone _out_ of the kitchen.  
 “Soon,” Eren answered. Not soon enough for Levi, at least until Eren corrected himself to say that Armin had arrived. Levi chuckled as Hanji bolted out the door to get him. He supposed she was losing the argument with Moblit. It was rare she did win one. He thought he heard Moblit say something, but his eyes were drawn to the bubbling pot across from him. Should he say anything? It seemed Moblit had him covered for that as Eren scrambled to turn off the burner.  
   
 “Not a word,” Eren hissed at the two of them. Levi resisted snorting with laughter. As if he would have done any better. He would have burnt the bottom and the rice would still be dry as constipated shit. He stiffened for a moment as a new voice entered, but relaxed as he realised it was Armin. Then the implications of what Armin said sunk in and he glanced at Eren. ‘Did Eren almost burn the rice again?’ Again? Eren seemed frustrated and embarrassed. The boy wore every emotion on his face, a nice change from Hanji and Erwin.  
 “Eren burns rice?” Hanji asked. Levi closed his eyes for a moment. She really had the worst social skills sometimes. Moblit managed to get her to shut her mouth, he wished that he had that much control over her.  
   
 Armin continued to describe their kitchen dynamic. Eren with the savouries, Mikasa for sweets and Armin to make sure they didn’t collective burn the place down. Levi tuned him out for the first bit as he fumbled to add in the next ingredient.  
 “Eren’s best with savoury things, but tends to have issues making sure something else doesn’t burn while he multitasks. Sweet things usually end up over-seasoned or overcooked. I don’t know how he does it,” Armin continued.  
 “Remind me why you’re teaching me again,” Levi joked. It seemed like he hit a sore point though as Eren ran off to the washroom.  
   
 He stared at the space where he had been. Something had bothered him about the joke but he wasn’t sure what.  
 “Eren gets frustrated with what he can’t do,” Armin murmured.  
 “You also aren’t the best with jokes Levi,” Moblit commented behind him.  
 “Shut up, they’re fine. He’s laughed at them before,” Levi growled.  
 “That’s was a miracle happening and you know it,” Hanji replied. “I’ll go make sure he’s okay though!”  
 “Don’t scare him off!” Levi ordered. “Hanji!” She was probably already out of hearing. Sometimes he hated how sound worked in his apartment.  
   
 “Can I help?” Armin asked. Levi gave half a shrug, but Moblit practically shoved the blond out of the kitchen.  
 “It’s almost all done, I’ll stir the wok right now Levi. How about you get them back here?”  
 Levi sighed, he supposed it was for the better since he really wasn’t sure what to do now that everything was in. He was almost certain he had forgotten something.  
   
 He stood in the hall towards his room and the bathroom.  
 “How about you fuckers get over here before we ruin the food!” More like before he ruined the food. Eren seemed more withdrawn and Hanji had her ‘mysteries of the world’ face on. He’d have to ambush her later at work to find out just what was wrong. All he could hope for was no drama for the rest of the night and that he wouldn’t have to use a fire extinguisher.  
   
   
 


	7. Frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi thinks about the night before falling asleep and has a craving for soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I meant to have this up at the beginning of November and just still had some things to tweak from the beta. Chapters for the series may get slow for Dec-Jan. Normally I'd be working on the next set now (or be editing the other side of this) but I'm working on my NaNo project instead. Hope you enjoy though! (Oh hey! Look rating change 8D)

Levi sighed and slumped on his bed. Normally he would just sink into the couch, but he had a suspicion that he wouldn’t be waking up after he settled. He would have it out with Hanji tomorrow. He would slam her head against a wall right now if he could pry himself off the bed. He was quite certain that Eren would be having words with her as well. The kid’s dorm key was nowhere in his apartment, which meant that Hanji pickpocketed Eren to have some excuse to shove the two of them together.  
   
 Thankfully, Eren lived on the first floor and Levi could remember the tricks to get in. If Armin had answered his phone, none of it would have been necessary. Except he couldn’t blame him for wanting a decent night’s sleep.  
   
 Unfortunately, his actions left Eren a bit more insecure about the building safety. Levi promised not to break in without permission again at Eren’s insistence. He didn’t mind that at all, but Eren’s loss of security was an itch under his skin.  
   
 He closed his eyes and let the memory of the night wash over him again. Except for the end, it had all worked out fairly well. Dinner had turned out well and no one burnt the rice. Levi ended up keeping half of the fruits and a small container of the apple crisp. He wasn’t sure how he had managed to shove most of the leftovers at the two students when they were pushing him to keep them. God knows they needed to eat better than he did right now.  
   
 It was fun making a meal from beginning to end. Perhaps he could make one on his own meals soon. He needed his own way to thank Eren. He could clean up Eren’s room some time as thanks. He remembered Hanji’s room and the lack of time she had to keep her living space clean. He would offer to help Eren clean some time. They could make a soup together afterwards.  
   
 He smiled slightly as Eren came up behind him, tossing some herbs or shit into the pot. The tomatoes were bubbling as Eren reached over to turn it down.  
 “It needs to simmer for a while now,” he whispered into Levi’s ear. He couldn’t suppress the shiver down his spine.  
 “I can think of something we can do in that time,” Eren purred.  
 “I wonder what that might be,” Levi replied. Eren responded by attacking Levi’s neck, sucking and biting at it while he almost tore Levi’s shirt off.  
   
 “Fucking hormones,” Levi growled, shoving Eren across to the other counter and attacking his lips. Their clothes seemed to just fly off, their hands going everywhere. Levi took his time to explore Eren’s chest, his fingers dancing across every dip he saw earlier. He smirked as Eren’s moans grew louder, until Levi felt his entire body jolt.  
   
 At some point Eren’s hands had made their way down his pants, around his length. Levi’s hands grappled for some purchase and found Eren’s hair. Eren groaned as Levi’s fingers dug into his scalp. His fingers were dancing lightly around his member, suggesting so much more that he could do.  
 “Eren,” he panted. “Eren, please.” The strokes became bolder, stronger. His own hands played in Eren’s hair, eliciting groans and moans from him.  
 “Keep doing that Levi,” he whimpered. Eren bent his head further down, making it easier for Levi to stroke his hair. He wondered if Eren’s neck was as sensitive and trailed his fingers further down. His hands fell down to Eren’s shoulders to grip them tightly as Eren increased his pace.  
   
 “Levi, please, keep touching me like that. I… I’m…”  
 Levi groaned as he hit the peak of his pleasure, his eyes suddenly opening up to stare into the pitch black darkness.  
   
 He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember whatever dream he had. He was still lost in a sleepy fog as he stripped off the sheets, tossing them into the laundry pile and replacing them. He changed out of his clothes and the darkness took him back as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
   
 He woke up with an odd craving for tomato soup. He had a vague good feeling as well, like he had a really good dream that he couldn’t. He was oddly relaxed and actually feeling like the day wasn’t going to be a shithole like usual. He stretched out before grabbing his phone to check the time. He looked out the window and then stared at it again, not believing what he saw.  
 “What the fuck.”  
   
 As if agreeing with him, his phone began to ring. Erwin Smith appeared on the screen and he barely hesitated to answer.  
 “What.”  
 “Ah, the sleeping beauty awakens. Is there any particular reason you couldn’t make it today?” Erwin asked. Levi looked out the window guiltily.  
 “I don’t know what to tell you Erwin,” he admitted. “I had my alarm set and I must have slept in.”  
 “Well given that you slept through Hanji calling you on the work phone and her cell phone it must have been some sleep. Or did someone stay overnight with you?”  
 Levi gripped the phone tightly.  
   
 “You can tell that bitch,” he started tersely, “To fucking drive over to the college and return Eren’s key. Remind her that I used to fucking _break in_ to help her and she can deal with how insecure he feels in his own fucking room now.”  
 “I’ll have words with her,” Erwin sounded concerned about that. “So long as you meet me for lunch in a half hour to talk.”  
   
 Levi closed his eyes and weighed the risks. Erwin probably wanted to hear more about this mystery person in his life now, and would walk away with twice the information than what Levi gave him. However, Erwin would be able to actually get Hanji to start laying off of him and Eren.  
   
 “Okay.”  
 “I’ll meet you at the salon then.”  
 Levi placed the phone back on the night table. He rubbed at his eyes, taking in the current time. He hadn’t slept in that late since his last break down. A faint smile crossed his face as he remembered Hanji railing on about how she was going to rip Dawke apart. Good times, before she got really annoying.  
   
 A frown crossed his face as he smoothed out his sheets. He didn’t remember changing them, or changing into his pajamas. He glanced over at the laundry pile, tempted to look. Then he remembered he had less than twenty minutes to get ready and almost ran to the shower. The discomfort in his stomach reminded him that he had yet to eat.  
   
 He managed to shower quickly, deciding to deal with the odd persistent feeling that he was dirtier than normal. He managed to grab a random fruit to snack on as he ran out the door to meet Erwin.  
   
 He just finished the apple as Erwin came out the back door and tossed the core into the trash.  
 “Are we doing actual food or are you just going to grill me?” Levi demanded. It didn’t even dent Erwin’s smile. He only gestured to the car. If they were driving, it was probably to somewhere nice. Nice, Erwin would offer to pay, Levi would tell him basics and Erwin would somehow walk out with more information than he said.  
   
 “Fucking great,” Levi grumbled.  
 “You know you appreciate my company as well Levi. We haven’t had much time to actually talk lately.”  
 Levi didn’t have a reply for that. Erwin had his own projects in that time. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know what they were. He stiffened as Erwin patiently pulled out of his parking spot.  
 “Why don’t we get this over with?” Levi snapped. He caught a glimpse of Erwin’s blue eyes before they focused back on the road.  
 “I don’t understand why you’re so angry at me already, Levi.”  
 “Maybe because I was late for work and you didn’t even scold me. You have _something_ —”  
 “Levi, you really don’t have to worry. I just have a few questions for you. That’s all. You probably haven’t eaten anything worthwhile lately either.”  
   
 Levi stared at him. Did Erwin really not know about Eren? He thought that Hanji would have been all over the latest details and sharing them with him.  
 “I have been eating better lately,” Levi admitted.  
 “By your standards or ours?”  
 “By Petra’s.” Hanji’s eating habits were infrequent and would vary from the healthiest foods she could find, to the worst fast food he had ever smelled. Erwin’s style of eating was too simple and routine for Levi.  
   
 A tense silence fell in the car until they pulled into a bistro. Levi couldn’t get out of that car fast enough, and Erwin was on his heels.  
 They were seated without much issue and their usual orders placed. Levi couldn’t get enough of the club sandwiches when they came here.  
 “Levi, did something good happen?” Erwin prodded.  
 Levi kicked up an eyebrow. He couldn’t think of any particular happy moment, given his horrendous night thanks to the idiot in the glasses.  
 “You’re… relaxed. Calm. It’s odd to see you like that whether it’s for work or not.”  
   
 Levi frowned, trying to pin down the source. He couldn’t think of any particular instance last night that would have resulted in his supposed calmness.  
 “Fuck if I know,” he admitted. “Last night was more stressful than anything because Hanji stole Eren’s keycard to the dorms.”  
 “Is there any particular reason for that?”  
 Levi scowled at Erwin, uncertain how much he wanted to say. If he mentioned all of it Erwin would either help, or stop Hanji. Although either way it wouldn’t end inconveniencing Eren like last night.  
   
 He took a sip of water while he thought over possible answers. Erwin’s face was plastered with that all-knowing smile the bastard.  
 “I’m fairly certain Hanji and Petra are trying to set me up with Eren,” Levi admitted.  
 “Ah, so their matchmaking shenanigans again?” Erwin seemed oddly at ease with that.  
 Levi frowned at him. What else would they be doing?  
 “Say what you mean you fucker.”  
 “Are you against the idea?”  
 Levi opened his mouth automatically to say ‘yes’, but something had him close his mouth again. He glanced at the table thinking about it.  
 “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t mind them teasing or whatever… but…”  
 “You feel like they’re pushing you?” Erwin murmured. Levi hesitated before nodding.  
 “You can fix that easily by going on a few dates,” Erwin suggested.  
 “No.” Something about that rubbed Levi wrong.  
 Erwin leaned back against his chair. “So he means something to you then.”  
 “He’s seen me at work and me at home and can live with it. I don’t want to scare the fucker off.”  
   
 There were a few minutes of silence as the waiter returned with their sandwiches. Levi all too happily filled his mouth. Erwin sighed before beginning to eat. Levi rolled his eyes. Erwin knew him well enough that he should have expected him to dodge further questions.  
   
 Levi cherished the moments of silence until he paused to sip from his water. Erwin had been waiting for the break to just slip in again.  
 “May I meet him?”  
 “No.” The words spewed out of his mouth before his brain could catch up. Why had he said that? That was definitely something that Erwin would pick up on, along with his sudden panic. Concern filled Erwin’s blue eyes and Levi felt his hands clenching.  
 “Levi… are you sure you don’t want to consider…?”  
 “It’s too late for that,” Levi replied bitterly. “I made my choice. I’ll fucking deal with it. I have been dealing with it.”  
 Erwin gave him a half smile. “No, you’ve been running from it. Not that I really mind since you’re quite the stylist, but it isn’t what you want to—”  
 “Stop.”  
   
 Erwin’s lips pressed tightly together as he swallowed his words. “Forgive me,” he murmured. “You’ve been… different during your shifts. Patient even with our newbie. I had to see what changed.” He meant how Levi had changed.  
 Levi could hear that undertone loud and clear.  
 “Levi, you’re as dear to me as Hanji is and seeing both of you like this is rather…” Erwin searched for the word.  
 “Fucked up?” Levi offered.  
 Erwin chuckled. “I suppose that would suffice. Neither of you is working with your passion except in your free time.”  
   
 Levi pressed his lips together. He tried to leave that bitterness in the past, to move forward without regrets.  
 “I don’t think any less of you, but if you have a shot; you should take it,” Erwin advised.  
   
 Levi barked a laugh as he picked up the second half of his sandwich.  
 “I was thinking of telling Hanji the same thing.”  
 Erwin stared for a moment, thinking before he asked as Levi swallowed.  
 “About?”  
 “Moblit. She won’t tell me what’s wrong, or rather what she’s having trouble with.” He stared at Erwin, wondering if she had opened up to him at all.  
 “No, she hasn’t said anything. Has Moblit said anything to you?”  
 Levi shook his head after taking another bite.  
 “Very well, I will talk to Hanji about Eren. If you listen to her. Don’t push, don’t wheedle, let her work her way to it. You’re best suited for it anyways,” Erwin stated.  
 Levi raised an eyebrow, which only had Erwin smiling as he finished his soup.  
 “I know more than you think Levi. You two are so similar that it would only be natural for your walls to come down. What worries me more is this client of yours that seems to be making his way past them.”  
   
 Levi chewed slowly as he took in Erwin’s warning. At least he thought it was a warning.  
 “I just wanted to be sure that this is a change you want Levi,” Erwin clarified. “To bring your awareness to this.”  
 Levi gave a short nod. “I appreciate it.”  
   
 Erwin finally smiled and nodded at the waiter, signalling for the bill.  
   
 The rest of his day was a bit of a haze. He still has tomato soup on the mind and managed to get up enough courage to ask Hanji if she would ‘kindly permit his ass to use the kitchen now’. Her only reply startled him. Just a message about how she hoped that he _didn’t_ use his ass for cooking, but as long as he kept the extinguisher close; he could try.  
   
 He felt light as he walked home thanks to Hanji. He would check some recipes when he got home, maybe go shopping for what he needed. He figured it would be faster if he worked on the soup from the tomato paste rather than boiling tomatoes into the soup. He didn’t really feel like waiting that long for food to be ready.  
   
 It took far more time than the thought to scroll through varieties of recipes to find one that he liked. Simple, with just enough body to it. Eren had made the entire process seem so much easier. Unlike Eren, he didn’t trust his own memory and jotted down everything from the quantity to the exact brand.  
   
 The longest part of the grocery run was just walking there and back. He didn’t bother going through aisles that didn’t have anything he needed. He ran through his mental list. Paste, he needed to refill his milk, and bacon. Fucking hell, he was going to put bacon in the soup even if it wasn’t in the recipe. Hanji didn’t have to know that he made bacon to go into his soup.  
   
 The sound of bacon sizzling was comforting as he checked the recipe again. The paste was already in the pot and he began to slowly pour in the milk. Four cans worth. He rummaged around in the cupboards. He really shouldn’t have ever let Hanji arrange all of his items _without_ telling him where everything was. Although he hadn’t expected actually using his kitchen either. A sigh escaped as he finally found the spices. Perfectly out of reach.  
   
 Then he swore the universe was laughing at him because _something_ was burning.  
 “Fuck.” He moved the pan and pot to other burners. The bacon was fine. He stared at the soup, not quite mixed. “Shit.” Could he fix it?  
   
 He stared at his phone for a moment, his fingers hovering over Eren’s name.  
   
  ** _Levi [4:28pm]:_** Can you save burnt tomato soup?  
   
 He gnawed at his lip as he flipped the bacon while he waited for a reply. For all he knew, Eren could be busy right now and wouldn’t be able to reply. Maybe he could get away with just eating leftovers. Except that he _really_ wanted tomato soup for some reason.  
   
  ** _Master Chef [4:29pm]:_** Checking.  
   
 Levi let out a huge breath. His dinner could be salvaged. He stared at his phone, willing it to buzz again. He turned off the burners after a minute or two. The bacon pan seemed hot enough to finish the bacon anyways. He grimaced at the grease that had splattered over the stove. Although, this would be one mess he wouldn’t mind making if he got delicious food as a result.  
   
  ** _Master Chef [4:35pm]:_** Pour into other pot. Don’t scrape sides  
   
 Levi stared at the message for a few moments. How would that save burnt soup? He hesitated to follow Eren’s instructions for a few moments, before deciding that he really didn’t have anything to lose by following those instructions.  
   
 A quick taste had him sending off thanks quickly and writing down the tip. There wasn’t a hint of the burnt smell in the remaining soup. He didn’t have any further issues thankfully. He was fairly certain that Eren would be able to do better, but for his first attempt on his own at least it was edible. He glanced at the phone, knowing that Hanji would be curious about how it went. Well, she didn’t have to know he had relied on Eren again. He took a deep breath and hit call. If he was going to jump into the abyss, he would do it on his terms.  
   
 

**Author's Note:**

> Second part of the series will be from Eren's POV. I'll probably be writing that next but no guarantees. tbiris on tumblr and tracking fic: acar


End file.
